All practicing lawyers in Manitoba are governed by our Code of Professional Conduct. It can be found here (https://lawsociety.mb.ca/regulation/act-rules-code-practice-directions/code-of-professional-conduct/).
Among other things, our Code of Professional Conduct includes the mandate that lawyers should not hesitate to speak out against an injustice. Now, as much as at any time in our history as a firm, we must and do stand together united in support of the people of Israel and the Jewish community that was particularly targeted and affected by the atrocities recently committed by the terror organization Hamas.
On Saturday, October 7, 2023, the people of Israel were subjected to a series of horrific injustices and crimes against humanity. This tragic event that befell the people of Israel, occurred on a Jewish holy day and appeared to have been designed to evoke the traumatic stress of historic pogroms committed against the Jewish people in Europe, and the Holocaust.
The crimes committed against the people of Israel by Hamas included assaults, torture, kidnapping, sexual violence, and murder. The perpetrators of those crimes did not distinguish between, Arab, Bedouin, Druze, Christian, or Jew. The criminal organization Hamas did not check political views or creeds before committing their crimes, not that any such crimes can be justified in any circumstances. There can be no justification, rationalization, or equivocation about such depravity.
It is up to all of us to unite and raise our voices in favour of truth and justice, and to speak out plainly against injustice. To remain silent is to grant license, directly or indirectly, to atrocities.
Taylor McCaffrey therefore condemns unequivocally, on our own and in concert with the Canadian Bar Association, the horrific attacks perpetrated against the State of Israel by Hamas. These attacks purposefully targeted innocent civilians, families, and children in the most horrific ways. We express immediate concern, in the strongest possible terms, for the hostages taken by Hamas, and demand their immediate safe return. We acknowledge that Israel has a right to defend itself, and denounce all statements that support, directly or indirectly, the heinous actions of Hamas. There is no place for hate in Canada.
We stand with the Israeli community, both inside Israel comprised of people of all faiths and nationalities, and the Jewish and other communities in Manitoba and in Canada, who have been affected by this tragedy. We also stand with the innocents in Gaza.
We hope and pray for better times ahead based on truth, justice, and reconciliation among all peace loving people. Together we must work to stop hate and increase justice and understanding.
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