FIRST READING: The ever-worsening extremism of Canada’s antizionists

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There’s never been a point at which the core organizers of Canada’s anti-Israel movement haven’t been driven by extreme motives. These were the groups whose immediate response to the October 7 massacres were celebratory rallies in every major Canadian city. Samidoun — one of Canada’s principal “pro-Palestinian” coordinators — was just listed as a terrorist entity and accused of spending years providing material support to an active Gazan terror group.

But in the beginning, there were modest efforts to conceal this. Crowds would chant for “intifada,” and then explain that it was merely an Arabic word meaning “uprising.” They’d call for Israel’s destruction, but code it in a chant of, “From the river to the sea.” And protests dispensed with the more explicit symbols of jihadist terror, such as green Hamas headbands or Hezbollah flags.

All that is over. Where there was once nuance and obfuscation, there is now brazen, explicit promotion of terrorism and jihadist violence — including against Canadians. Terror groups are being named and praised. Violence against Canadian Jews is being encouraged. And demonstrators are showing up to rallies in full militant garb; military fatigues, face coverings and even body armour. What’s more, all of this is occurring with direct police supervision and even assistance. 

Below, a not-at-all comprehensive sampling of just how overt the terror promotion has gotten, and how loud the calls for violence.

A public memorial to Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Mississauga

On Tuesday, Nov. 26, Mississauga Celebration Square is set to host a “vigil” for Yahya Sinwar, the late leader of Hamas and the signature architect of the October 7 massacres. A Facebook invite features Sinwar alongside the image of a Remembrance Day poppy, and invites attendees to commemorate “40 days after the Martyrdom of the leaders of Resistance fighting for Palestinian freedom.” The contact email ([email protected]) is the same for other anti-Israel events organized in the Toronto area, such as a 2023 Al Quds Day commemoration.

The reaction of Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish was to issue a statement strenuously devoid of condemnation for the event, stating only that “The City will not interfere with a peaceful vigil,” and that organizers could be assured assistance from Peel Regional Police.

And this isn’t the first time Canada has seen an organized vigil for a terrorist leader. In September, Windsor, Ont.’s Ahlul Bayt Mosque hosted an event to commemorate the “martyrdom” of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah.

Calls for jihad in Calgary

The streets of Calgary have largely been spared the weekly pro-terror marches that are now a feature of Canada’s other major cities. But it’s a different story on the campus of the University of Calgary.

In October, a talk at the school by former Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy was barricaded by crowds shouting “Allahu akbar.” Livestreams put out by organizers also referred to Levy as a “rat” who needed to be trapped.

Last week, the school’s Palestine Advocacy Club (one of the key organizers of the Levy blockade) held a “Ummatic Rebound” panel talk in which attendees were told of the glories of martyrdom and jihad. In a livestream of the event, a speaker said, “We’re not fighting for that land, per se, we’re fighting because this is a holy land.”

She would also assure the crowd that “our martyrs are in heaven,” while the Zionist dead are “somewhere else.”

Explicit celebration of the Amsterdam pogrom in Montreal

Last week, the Dutch capital of Amsterdam was witness to the first anti-Jewish pogrom the city has seen since the Second World War. “We failed the Jewish community of the Netherlands during World War II, and last night we failed again,” said Dutch king Willem-Alexander. The incident was particularly prescient for Canada because the violence had been planned and coordinated by Dutch Palestinian groups whose rhetoric and strategies have been virtually identical to those seen in Canada.

Canada’s usual anti-Israel organizers have weighed in on the Amsterdam violence on social media, where their general opinion has been that the Jews of Amsterdam deserved it because visiting Israeli football fans had provoked the violence by being obnoxious. This was on full display at rallies in Montreal over the weekend.

“There is one message, and one meaning, to all of us, and especially to the Zionists … that they are not welcome anywhere they go,” said one speaker, his face concealed by a keffiyeh.

Speaker Iyad Abuhamed stood in front of a row of similarly masked men and railed against Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre’s statement that the Amsterdam pogrom was motivated by antisemitism. “It’s stupid you are idiot!” he said, taking particular issue with Poilievre’s assertion that Israel “has a right to defend itself.”

The Montreal rallies would also feature the rare sight of placards and signs devoid of French — a seeming violation of the province’s famously strict language laws. In a livestream by organizers Montreal4Palestine, chanting, keffiyeh-clad men could be seen setting off smokebombs and holding aloft signs and banners written in Arabic. The largest of these featured a masked figure against the slogan Liberate48 — a call to violently undo Israel’s 1948 founding.

Men bearing a pro-terror banner block traffic for a mass Islamic prayer in Toronto

Just before 4 p.m. on Sunday, a group of several dozen men leading an un-permitted parade down Toronto’s Front Street stopped and kneeled for a public Islamic prayer in front of Union Station. They first put down a banner reading “long live … resistance to occupation,” and featuring the inverted red triangle — a Hamas symbol used to mark Zionist targets. Video taken by Toronto man Jon Fraser showed that almost all of the men had their faces covered, either by keffiyehs or balaclavas.

The day before, large crowds led by masked men had led slow marches throughout downtown Toronto using handheld horns to intimidate anyone who approached them. Sunday’s anti-Israel marches in Toronto would also feature a man who showed up in body armour, a balaclava and a headband for the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a listed terror entity in Canada.

Samidoun continuing to operate with impunity in Vancouver

It’s now been nearly a month since the Government of Canada officially designated Vancouver-based Samidoun as a listed terror entity, where it joined groups such as Al-Qaeda, ISIS and Hamas. But despite Canada’s admission that it had an active terror group headquartered in Vancouver, the group has been able to continue operating with virtual impunity.

Their lawyer is threatening the federal government with a cease-and-desist order. Samidoun co-founder Charlotte Kates recently spoke at a conference in Montreal (her topic was “criminalizing dissent”). And extremist anti-Israel rallies have continued unabated on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery — they just don’t mention the word “Samidoun” anymore. One on Saturday even featured Jada Pape, one of Samidoun’s most active organizers. Dania Barakat, another perennial Samidoun ally, has similarly carried on as if nothing had happened, continuing to emcee rallies and organize blockades.

A speaker in Victoria shaming Canadians for wearing Remembrance Day poppies

The B.C. capital of Victoria has for months hosted regular anti-Israel rallies, often organized by the UVic-based Muslim Students Association. The Victoria Police not only provide free perimeter control, but will routinely issue statements days in advance to warn residents of the unpermitted road closures likely to result.

One of these rallies featured local anti-Israel activist Anas Al-Salah delivering a speech that slammed Canadians for remembering their role in ending the Holocaust, but not doing likewise for the Gazan “genocide.” Speaking in front of a line of blocked vehicles held back by Victoria Police, Al-Salah criticized Canadians for wearing Remembrance Day poppies, because it was remembering soldiers who had helped end the Holocaust, only for Holocaust survivors to help found the State of Israel.

“Now it happens that those (Holocaust) survivors have become oppressors; they have occupied my homeland, Palestine,” he said. Al-Salah does this often; in August he could be seen on the steps of the B.C. Parliament Buildings praising Hamas as “young warriors.”

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