By framing a Palestinian state as needing to align with Zionism PM Mark Carney implicitly dismisses the legitimacy of Palestinian suffering and aspirations.
By Fareed Khan
In a CNN interview at the NATO summit on June 25, 2025, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney ignited a firestorm of controversy in Canada by declaring that peace in the Middle East requires a “Zionist Palestinian state” that recognizes Israel’s right to exist and prosper. This statement, uttered in response to a question from Christiane Amanpour about his vision for a Palestinian state where its indigenous people can live in harmony, is not only profoundly ignorant but also deeply offensive.
Carney’s statement reveals a shocking disregard for the history of Palestinian suffering under Zionism and represents a slap in the face to Palestinians, particularly the more than 90% who are Muslim, as well as to the broader Muslim community.
The prime minister's remark is more than a diplomatic misstep, it is an anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic assault on the cause of Palestinian human rights, exacerbating the anger and alienation felt by Palestinian Canadians, Muslims and their allies. Some who have criticized Carney’s statement have said it is irrational in its contradiction.
Zionism, as a political ideology, advocates for the racist concept of a Jews only ethno-state in historic Palestine (similar in concept to white supremacy calling for a whites only Canada), at the expense of indigenous Palestinian rights and Palestinian self-determination. Since the establishment of Israel in 1948, Zionist policies have driven the systematic and brutal dispossession, ethnic cleansing, and oppression of Palestinians, culminating in what many, Holocaust, genocide and human rights scholars, international law experts and human rights organizations have described as an ongoing genocide in Gaza.
To suggest that a Palestinian state should adopt the very ideology responsible for their decades of suffering is not only unhinged but also a cruel mockery of their struggle. There have been many remarks on social media deriding Carney’s comment with one comment calling Carney’s comment “hateful”, “bigoted”, “cruel” and “evil”. While another likened Carney’s remark to telling Blacks in the US South during the Jim Crow era that they should be more like white supremacists if they wanted to live in peace. Clearly Carney’s remark is a nonsensical contradiction that demonstrates a fundamental illiteracy about the history of what Palestinians have endured.
Carney’s remark demonstrates a staggering ignorance about Palestinian suffering. For the better part of eight decades Palestinians have endured ethnic cleansing, land theft, military occupation, and systemic violence under Zionist policies. And the Nakba made over 750,000 Palestinians refugees and resulted in tens of thousands murdered at the hands of Zionist terrorist militias.
Since October 2023 Israel’s actions—blockades, settlement expansion, military assaults, and crimes against civilians—continue to deny Palestinians their basic rights. In Gaza alone, over 63,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s ongoing genocide, with one Israeli scholar releasing a study which says that more than 377,000 Palestinians are missing—presumed dead, unaccounted for, or buried beneath the rubble of Gaza’s destroyed buildings. A recent Ha’aretz poll also revealed that 47% of Israeli Jews support the extermination of Palestinians in Gaza, and 56% favor the ethnic cleansing of Palestinian citizens within Israel to create a Jews only ethno-state. For Carney to propose that Palestinians embrace Zionism as a prerequisite for peace is to demand that the oppressed ignore the crimes committed against them by their oppressors, a suggestion that is as insulting as it is unrealistic.
The reaction from Palestinian Canadians and their allies has been one of visceral anger and betrayal. The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) condemned Carney’s remarks as “insulting” and contrary to Canada’s stated foreign policy, which ostensibly supports a “sovereign, independent, viable, democratic, and territorially contiguous Palestinian state.” In a detailed thread on X, NCCM argued that Carney’s statement continues a troubling trend of ignoring Israel’s criminal actions in Gaza, which many international bodies now qualify as genocide, including the president of the International Association of Genocide Scholars. Similarly, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) decried Carney’s comments, stating, “In doing so, Carney is asking Palestinians to adopt the political ideology of their oppressors as a pre-condition for self-determination. He is dead wrong.”
Carney’s statement is not only anti-Palestinian but also carries Islamophobic undertones, given that over 90% of Palestinians are Muslim. By framing a Palestinian state as needing to align with Zionism—a movement that has been violently antagonistic with regard to Palestinian self-determination—Carney implicitly dismisses the legitimacy of Palestinian suffering and aspirations. This aligns with a broader pattern of Canadian foreign policy that has often sidelined the rights of Muslims. From Canada’s role in the 2011 NATO intervention in Libya to its support for US led sanctions and aggression against Iran, the Canadian government has repeatedly prioritized Western geopolitical interests over the well-being of ordinary Muslims. Carney’s remark reinforces this pattern, signalling to Palestinian Canadians that their government views their struggle through a lens that privileges Israel’s hegemony over their bodies and territories.
The Islamophobic undertones of Carney’s statement are particularly galling in light of Canada’s domestic context. Palestinian Canadians, alongside other Muslim communities, have faced rising hate and discrimination for years, but particularly since the escalation of violence in Gaza following October 7, 2023. Carney’s failure to acknowledge this reality, coupled with the offensive comment during his CNN interview,” dismisses the lived experiences of these communities and reinforces the systemic anti-Palestinian bias within the Canadian government.
Carney’s statement must be viewed within the broader context of Canada’s foreign policy, which has consistently favoured Israel over Palestinian rights. Canada’s close relationship with Israel—marked by significant financial, military, and diplomatic support—sets it apart from other nations. No other country sees such a steady flow of its citizens joining a foreign military, as Canadians have done with the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF). Ottawa has gone to extraordinary lengths to shield Israel from accountability, from threatening the International Criminal Court over arrest warrants for Israeli leaders to opposing South Africa’s genocide case at the International Court of Justice. The Canadian government has also failed to impose sanctions on the large number of Israeli officials responsible for war crimes, despite mountains of evidence of atrocities in Gaza and the West Bank.
Even as Carney has occasionally criticized Israel’s actions—such as calling the suffering in Gaza “intolerable” in a joint G7 statement in May 2025—his government has taken no concrete actions to hold Israel accountable. This inaction stands in stark contrast to Canada’s rhetoric about upholding international law where it concerns Russia’s war against Ukraine. As noted Canadian human rights expert Alex Neve wrote on social media, “Waiting, vacillating, remaining silent and failing or, worse, refusing to act in the face of mounting and incontrovertible evidence of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity can no longer be options for Canada.” Carney’s “Zionist Palestinian state” remark underscores this hypocrisy, revealing a government more concerned with appeasing Israel than with defending Palestinian human rights.
Carney’s statement is not an isolated gaffe but a reflection of a deeper anti-Palestinian bias within his government. Despite campaigning as a progressive alternative to the Conservatives, Carney has shown himself to be little different on this issue. His appointment of Marco Mendicino, a Zionist and vocal supporter of Israel, as interim chief of staff further signals his alignment with pro-Israel interests. Palestinian Canadians and their allies are rightly demanding an apology and a course correction. As Jason Toney of CJPME stated, “Carney’s call for a future Palestinian state to be ‘Zionist’ is a step backwards. Such a statement is offensive to the principle of Palestinian self-determination and undermines Canada’s credibility as a fair or credible partner in any future peace process.”
To restore trust, Carney must retract his statement and take concrete steps to align Canada’s foreign policy with international law and human rights, of which the government has often claimed to be a defender. This includes imposing sanctions on Israeli political and military leaders, enforcing a comprehensive arms embargo, recognizing the State of Palestine, and supporting international efforts to hold Israel accountable for its actions. Canada must also address the rising tide of anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic sentiment at home, ensuring that Palestinian Canadians and Muslims feel heard and protected.
Mark Carney’s “Zionist Palestinian state” comment is a shameful moment, exposing a profound ignorance of Palestinian history and suffering. It is an affront to Palestinian Canadians, whose righteous anger reflects decades of marginalization by a government that protects Israeli criminality rather than standing in defence of Palestinian justice and human rights. By framing peace as contingent on Palestinians embracing the ideology of the of Israel, Carney has not only undermined their right to self-determination but also perpetuated an anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic narrative. It is time for Carney to apologize, listen to the voices of Palestinian Canadians, and commit to a foreign policy that upholds the principles of equality, justice, and international law for all.
© 2025 The View From Here. © 2025 Fareed Khan. All Rights Reserved.
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