Canadians who marched in support of Hamas terrorist attack against Israel showed their true colours
Most Canadians celebrated Thanksgiving weekend with their families, friends, neighbours, and others. Alas, there was a small albeit vocal minority in Canada who decided to celebrate events related to racism, hatred and an act of terrorism.
We’ll get to that part shortly.
As most people know, the Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas launched a major attack against Israel on Oct. 7. It coincided with the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah, and occurred nearly 50 years after the start of the 1973 Yom Kippur War.
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Hamas was aided by other Palestinian terrorist groups such as Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Lions’ Den. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Iran, which has a strategic alliance with Hamas, also played a role in the assault, although the totalitarian regime’s direct involvement remains unconfirmed as of this writing. Yahya Rahim Safavi, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, was quoted by ISNA news agency as having reportedly said during a meeting, “We support the proud operation of Al-Aqsa Flood.”
The attack caught the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and intelligence services completely by surprise. This made it one of the biggest intel failures in the country’s history. Israel has since retaliated against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, with the IDF claiming that more than 700 Palestinian terrorists have been killed to date. The Lebanese terrorist organization Hezbollah, along with Islamic Jihad’s armed wing, Al-Quds Brigades, also reportedly entered into a conflict in northern Israel on Oct. 8.
Close to 1,100 people are reportedly dead due to this terrorist attack. Over 2,600 people have been wounded, and more than 100 are being held hostage. These numbers will continue to climb until the fighting is over.
There have been demonstrations in various cities around the world related to this terrorist attack. A few rallies have been supportive of Israel. Most of them haven’t.
In Canada, small groups of young men in Toronto and Mississauga, Ont. went out the night of Hamas’s terrorist attack against Israel to celebrate. One widely-viewed video posted on X by Rebel News showed them riding in cars and trucks in Mississauga, honking their horns and enthusiastically cheering and waving Palestinian flags. Additional videos, including several posted by Toronto Sun columnist Joe Warmington, showed them standing on top of the vehicles waving flags.
There have also been significant protests in cities like Montreal on Oct. 8 and downtown Toronto on Oct. 9. Various chants calling for Israel’s destruction could be heard at the latter protest. Police were on hand to keep things in order.
These demonstrations, while completely acceptable within the realms of free speech and freedom of expression, were, nevertheless, awful to see.
Some people who either attended or were supportive of the protests have attempted to paint them in a different light. Those who participated weren’t defending Hamas’s attack on Israel, they suggested, but were marching in support of Palestine and, in some cases, the Free Palestine movement.
Ah, if it were only that simple – and believable.
I don’t doubt that a few individuals went there to support Palestine and the Palestinian community. People go to protests for different reasons. However, the vast majority of participants knew exactly why these demonstrations had been organized – and what they were celebrating.
Without Hamas launching a surprise attack on Israel that murdered and injured innocent civilians, these protests wouldn’t have occurred. Pro-Palestinian supporters in Canada could have applied for a permit to organize a protest in different cities and communities at any time – and for different reasons. Everything that has occurred over the past few days has been directly tied to the actions of a bloodthirsty terrorist organization that wants to destroy a country and its people.
You can’t separate one element from the other. It doesn’t work in this particular example.
So. If you’ve attended one of these allegedly pro-Palestinian demonstrations since the attack, you’ve actually participated in what amounts to a pro-Hamas demonstration. You’ve celebrated racism, hatred and an act of terrorism in front of your fellow citizens and the entire world.
These people should be embarrassed by their actions. It’s doubtful they are. Then again, by showing their true colours to the vast majority of Canadians, their offensive and disgusting viewpoint on this issue can’t be hidden from polite society any longer.
Michael Taube, a Troy Media syndicated columnist and Washington Times contributor, was a speechwriter for former Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He holds a master’s degree in comparative politics from the London School of Economics.
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