Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau declares himself a 'Zionist'

By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau publicly declared himself a "Zionist," saying no one in Canada should be afraid to label themselves as such.

Arguing that the term Zionist is "believing in the rights of Jewish people," Trudeau, in a speech on Thursday at the National Forum on Combatting anti-Semitism, said: "The increasingly common deafening indifference toward or even rationalization of rising anti-Semitism is not normal."

"The term Zionist increasingly being tossed around as a pejorative, in spite of the fact that it simply means believing in the right of Jewish people, like all people, to determine their own future, is not normal," he claimed.

Trudeau then identified himself as Zionist by saying: "No one in Canada should ever be afraid to call themselves a Zionist. I am a Zionist."