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TEL AVIV — In Israel on Monday, a “freedom convoy” further mimicking the usual traffic chaos in Jerusalem, and a small group of protesters lingered as close to the Knesset as possible.

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It’s Israel. Security is a real thing here. So all the government buildings are, you know, very secure, especially the parliament building. Without high-level security clearances and multiple checks on their person, property and vehicle, no one and nothing comes closer than about half a mile to Democracy Headquarters.

Demonstrators said they were protesting against all warrants and advocating for freedom. Yet most Israelis were unaware this was happening, as far bigger issues dominated the news cycle on Monday — including a few that pose very real security threats.

Moreover, Israel has very few mandates left. Masks are mandatory here and there, but enforcement is lax. Life is very normal. So the trucker protest here was a bit of a yawn.

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Israel is no stranger to loud and disruptive protests. I live a block from Rabin Square in Tel Aviv, which until recent renovations began was the main national venue for protests — especially when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was in power. However, the municipal police had no trouble controlling the crowds.

For years there have been horribly disruptive protests outside the prime minister’s official residence every Saturday night. They were loud as hell and caused traffic chaos, but were also handled by the city police.

In May 2021, when Hamas targeted Israeli civilians with thousands of rockets, and even scored a few direct hits, I don’t recall emergency powers being invoked.

Amid the conflict, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau issued a statement urging Israel to exercise “restraint” and “act in accordance with international law.” The inference, of course, is that in response to approximately 3,500 rockets launched by Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad at civilian targets, the Israel Defense Forces‘ acts of self-defense were neither “restricted” nor “in accordance with international law”.

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A week later, Trudeau pledged his continued support for “peacebuilding initiatives” that “support dialogue and cooperation between Israelis and Palestinians.” Then-Minister of International Development Karina Gould reinforced Trudeau’s comments, speaking of “building bridges between communities to resolve this conflict.”

While the sentiment was admirable, Iran-backed extremist forces in Gaza have demonstrated that they are not particularly open to dialogue. Hamas is recognized in Canada and much of the Western world as a terrorist organization. The very real threat to life, physical integrity and livelihoods during this period demanded a swift and strong military response.

Which brings us to Ottawa. Don’t get me wrong: I am for peace, order and good government. I’ve also long studied the fundamentals of well-functioning democracies: a free press, government accountability, freedom of speech and association, and all that jazz. And I’m a big fan of the quintessentially Canadian approach to safeguarding democratic rights and freedoms by balancing individual and collective interests. Tilt too far in one direction and you’ve got a Titanic in your hands.

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There is no doubt that the circumstances in Israel and Canada are very different. Canada’s borders are more than peaceful. Yet government ministers called the protests an insurrection and an “illegal occupation”.

What might have started as a fringe movement advocating having tea with the Governor General in order to depose the duly elected government (I think we can all agree that they were a little unhinged) seemed to evolve into something different, very quickly: an outpouring of general frustration with ongoing COVID mandates and what some have called government overreach. The Freedom Convoy became a lightning rod for widespread discontent.

As a proud Canadian, I am deeply saddened. I remember the FLQ crisis, when Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau invoked the War Measures Act. I remember we were waiting for news from James Cross and Pierre Laporte. The latter, a Quebec cabinet minister, was assassinated by the terrorists. I remember the fear vividly – in my house, in my school, everywhere. And I remember the tireless leadership of Pierre Trudeau in the defense of peace, order, good government and principles.

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I struggle, unfortunately, today to unravel the principled position of the current Trudeau government in its vilification of the participants and supporters of the Freedom Convoy. Spas, beer parties, impromptu barbecues, half-baked memorandums of understanding – none of this comes close to insurrection.

There do not appear to have been any serious attempts to negotiate, defuse or manage the situation. Throughout the two-week standoff, rather than acknowledge the diverse crowds protesting in various locations across Canada, the Prime Minister chose to dig in and continue to promote his rejection of the lot as fringe racists. We know from so many eyewitness reports that this did not reflect the facts on the ground.

The situation of the FLQ was a real national crisis. The Israeli civilians bombed in their homes by Hamas was a total crisis. But the Freedom Convoy and its followers occupy Ottawa with trucks, barbecues, bouncy castles and obnoxious horns? No.

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On Monday, with the announcement that the federal government was invoking the Emergencies Act, one had to ask: why? The Ambassador Bridge – the most critical border crossing that had been blocked – had been cleared, without incident. Additional blockages were lifted soon after, also without incident.

Perhaps before resorting to the most extreme response, the government should have considered, you know, negotiating a resolution. A learning moment, you might call it.

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Vivian Bercovici is a former Canadian Ambassador to Israel. She lives in Tel Aviv.