Blair Kaplan Venables (image credit - CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

HAMAS ATTACK

Kamloops Jewish community left reeling by Hamas attack on Israel

Oct 11, 2023 | 4:22 PM

KAMLOOPS — “Seeing the photos of women being paraded around after being raped or dead bodies, or learning about what happened to those 40 children in kibbutz being beheaded, I’m literally sick to my stomach” said Blair Kaplan Venables.

The Kamloops Jewish community is small, but with ties to Israel remaining through family and friends, the images of death and destruction from the past five days reverberate throughout.

“Ever since I was a little girl, I was always figuring out my escape route — where would I hide if they came for me? Because the holocaust wasn’t that long ago, and I still have friends with grandparents that survived the Holocaust. And I never thought, in 2023, I would still be thinking about where would I hide,” said Venables.

Venables says all of her direct friends in Israel have been accounted for, but it only takes one more degree of separation to find families torn apart by the barbaric attack.

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“I have a lot friends all over the world with connections in Israel. My friends in Israel are all safe, but they all know people who have been murdered. I have friends who are here who have connections back in Israel, who have friends and family missing and murdered,” stated Venables.

The current conflict between Israel and Palestine began following the Second World War, with both sides claiming a right to the land in the region. In the past, a two-state solution has come forward but never progressed. TRU political science professor Derek Cook believes the answer to the long-standing conflict will not be found at the end of a gun barrel.

“What is the political solution? That is what Canada and other western nations should be considering. We can’t have a military solution. What are we going to do if there are more than 2 million people in Gaza,’ Cook told CFJC News.

Cook stated that while atrocities have been committed and cannot be over looked in the killing of countless women, children and men in the past five days in Israel, the current situation on the Gaza Strip is untenable long term.

“It’s obvious that we should condemn violence, but what is the long-run circumstance that can lead to the lessening of the conflict and maybe peace? If you are not going to have a two-state solution are you then going to have apartheid into perpetuity? And that is not a stable situation,” said Cook.

Since the attack by Hamas, anti-Semitic incidents have been on the rise around the globe, leading to increased police presences in Jewish communities and at places of worship. In Canada, pro-Palestine rallies were held in various cities including Vancouver.

“Becuase what is happening isn’t just confined to the Middle East — it’s not just confined to Israel — so it’s scary,” said Venables.

In Kamloops, the Jewish community will be gathering Wednesday (Oct. 11) night out front of City Hall at 6:30 p.m. for a candle light vigil.

(Editor’s note: The veracity of the reported incidents described in the opening quote has since been called into question.)