This article originally appeared in the National Post.
By Joe Adam George, October 11, 2024
As news broke on October 7, 2023, of Hamas terrorists running rampant in Israel, wreaking unspeakable violence on innocent civilians, the celebratory mood in the Canadian pro-Hamas camp manifested itself in a most despicable and un-Canadian way: the glorification of terrorism.
For most Canadians, unaccustomed to the reality that terrorists enjoy more goodwill than Jews in the Middle East, the celebrations were an eye-opener and a harbinger of far worse to come.
Pro-Palestinian supporters have called for a ceasefire for the last year under the pretext of anti-Zionism and humanitarian concerns. Yet, they often refuse to denounce Hamas for its October 7 atrocities or its use of Gazans as human shields, which is a war crime. Their hypocrisy reveals their true nature as terror apologists. Moreover, their chants of “We don’t want two states! Bring us back to ’48!” prove what many already knew: that a two-state solution involving Israel is out of the question.
Seeking to shore up its shrinking pro-Palestinian vote share, the Trudeau government’s appeasement efforts appear to have only emboldened the anti-Zionist mob as they increasingly target Jewish entities, call for the destruction of Canada and Israel and promote the propaganda of designated terrorist groups.
Israel’s successful attacks against Iran’s “axis of resistance” in recent weeks have provoked further extremism and antisemitism in Canada: over the weekend, flags of the terror group Hezbollah were being waved on Toronto streets, while in Montreal, protesters threw firebombs at police.
“Violent incidents” of antisemitism alone increased by 208 per cent across the country last year, according to a B’nai Brith report on such events in 2023. Recently released intelligence reports created by the federal Integrated Terrorism Assessment Centre warned of “escalating antisemitic activity” and that an ISIS or al-Qaida-inspired extremist attack targeting Canadian Jews is a “realistic possibility.”
Non-violent incidents, meanwhile, are commonplace which suggests that individuals are becoming increasingly emboldened to publicly declare their once-latent sympathies for violent extremist groups. Ahlulbayt Youth Collective, a Windsor-based Muslim youth organization affiliated with the mosque that celebrated the slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, referred to him as a “great man” and “father,” while glorifying the “resistance” and “martyrs” fighting Israel. Two men were charged with hate crimes in Toronto for waving flags of Hezbollah, a designated terrorist entity in Canada.
Support for Islamic extremism is not a new phenomenon in Canada. A 2011 Macdonald-Laurier Institute study of Muslim public opinion in Canada found that only a small minority of Canadian Muslims unequivocally rejected Hamas, Hezbollah or the Iranian regime. Meanwhile, 35 per cent of those polled failed to fully reject al-Qaida. These figures could be higher now due to several exacerbating factors such as the rise of ISIS, youth radicalization, uncontrolled immigration, readily available online propaganda and the ongoing Middle East conflict.
The presence of Muslim newcomers in the hate-filled anti-Israel protests affirms the findings of a recent study which showed Muslims are among those who harbour the most negative sentiments towards Jews and Israel. That half of Canada’s 1.8 million Muslim population immigrated in 2011 or later would explain why these protests are exponentially bigger now than they would have been a decade or two ago.
However, to classify this solely as a “Muslim” problem is lazy and malicious. The presence of many non-Muslims, particularly those championing progressive “social justice” causes, in the anti-Israel protests suggests that sympathy for Islamist groups is not just a religious phenomenon, but a socio-political one.
Ironically, many newcomer protesters, particularly those from Lebanon, Syria and Iran, migrated to Canada because their home countries were devastated by the same terrorist groups they now venerate. They vehemently defend these groups whose values of fundamentalism, tyranny and intolerance are incompatible with Canadian democracy.
The terror apologists’ celebration of the solemn occasion of October 7 as “resistance” and an opportunity to target Canadian Jews is a testament to the Trudeau government’s laissez-faire approach to crime, national security, immigration and integration.
By failing to give law enforcement greater powers to crack down on protesters’ intimidation and harassment of Jews and others, the government has enabled repugnant behaviour to escalate. Moreover, with Canada battling a teen terrorism problem, these protests are fertile grounds for radicalization.
As Sweden and other European nations have belatedly recognized, policies promoting successful integration and inclusion are fundamental to a well-managed and effective migration and asylum system.
A year on from the October 7 attacks, the results of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s “post-national” Canada experiment do not bode well for the country’s future. Canadian values and national security are under attack, and our leaders are doing nothing about it. The Trudeau government’s appeasement of terror apologists has failed Canadian Jews just like its appeasement of China failed the two Michaels during their three years in prison there. In the process, Canada now has parallel societies and mainstreamed violent extremism — both of which have become the new normal.
It’s time for Canadians to have some difficult conversations about our immigration and integration policies if we are to stop this race to the bottom. Our leaders must also correct course by uncompromisingly enforcing the rule of law if we are to be taken seriously by our allies and enemies alike
Joe Adam George is a national security analyst on Middle East affairs and a contributing writer with the Macdonald-Laurier Institute.
