Howard Levitt: How Canadians can beat back pro-Hamas hatred

Lawsuits, political pressure and local elections are all tools of resistance against antisemitism

Published Oct 21, 2024  •  Last updated 0 minutes ago  •  4 minute read

Members of the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network wave Palestinian flags during the "Revolutionary May Day" demonstration, in Berlin, on May 1, 2023. Photo by JOHN MACDOUGALL/AFP via Getty Images

Instead of solemnity over the anniversary of October 7, an event replete with rapes, beheadings and the torture of innocent civilians, the alliance between Islamists and large sections of the Canadian left expressed themselves with jubilation, triumphant announcements, the burning of the Canadian flag and calls for the destruction of Canada, the United States and Israel.

Article content

On her Substack days later, on Oct. 9, political commentator Melanie Philips wrote, “October 7 was the starting gun for Iran’s final war of extermination against Israel as a precursor to the regime’s intended destruction of the West.“

Make no mistake who the enemies of civilization are. They make no pretense.

There are, at least, dozens of tools available to resist them.

First, the groups responsible can be declared terrorist organizations. This was the option taken on Tuesday, when the federal government listed Samidoun as such. For years, the group operated in Canada as a registered non-profit, even though it had links to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a listed terrorist group, and openly praised the attacks of October 7.

These terror organizations, as well as the state entities behind them, can be sued as well. Samidoun is one of many entities, including Iran, now facing a lawsuit from families of Canadians killed on October 7 under Canada’s Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act.

That same legal tool can be used against the hooligans in our streets. While there is much discussion about laying criminal charges for hate speech and wearing masks at the pro-Hamas rallies that fill our public squares and intimidate Canadians, particularly Jews, little thought has been given to suing the organizers and the most vicious members of the crowd.

Article content

Article content

Lawsuits for harassment, intentional infliction of mental distress, trespass, mischief and, depending on the circumstances, assault could be easily brought by those who are intimidated or otherwise affected.

These “protest” marches always involve intimidation of the Jewish community but have been permitted for 12 months on the basis of “freedom of speech.” But support for Hamas, a government-sanctioned terrorist organization, and genocidal chants calling for further murder of Jews through chants of “intifada,” amounts to criminal hate speech, not a legal exercise of “free speech.”

Establishments that have been targeted by pro-Hamas hatred can take legal action, too. Restaurants such Café Landwer and bookstores like Indigo, which have had their employees intimidated, premises spraypainted and patrons threatened have good potential for bringing lawsuits against those standing in front, intimidating potential customers and screaming out genocidal chants. It is time they exercise those rights.

It is also time for others to conduct a “buycott” by purchasing products from establishments targeted by pro-Hamas boycotts, to help them resist these attacks.

Article content

Resistance against hatred can also take place outside the courts. Voting is a perfect example. The most effective way to stop much of this is to elect the Conservatives in the next federal election. Other than Marco Mendicino and Anthony Housefather, the only two federal Liberals who have bucked their caucuses by supporting Israel and opposing the hate on our streets, the Liberals have proven ineffective. The few who have been sensible, such as Mendicino and Housefather, should be supported, as the Liberals will invariably live to fight another day. Independent MP Kevin Vuong should also be supported if he runs again.

Police, too, should be supported. In Toronto, police have taken little action because they do not have enough backing at city hall. The city has a mayor who is effectively “on the other team.” Citizens should pressure their municipal politicians to provide support for Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw to start arresting those shouting genocidal slogans at these pro-Hamas hate rallies

City halls should be pressured just as well. Municipalities have permit and bylaw power to ensure that demonstrations are not permitted in areas where they will disturb the peace or the rights of others and can preclude protests in vulnerable locations, such as Jewish senior citizens’ residences.

Article content

School boards, meanwhile, have permitted teachers to indoctrinate students in virulently left-wing teachings. This was exemplified last month by the Toronto District School Board, when students as young as eight were taken to a pro-Hamas hate rally behind the backs of parents, who were told their kids were going on an Indigenous-themed field trip. Voters should remember this in the next round of school board elections.

Universities and other workplaces must resist the pro-Hamas movements that have seized their grounds as well. Canary Mission, a group that documents hatred in North America, created an online catalogue of 122 University of Toronto professors and 19 students who were complicit in its illegal encampment. The U of T has the power to discharge professors for criminal behaviour and expel miscreant students. It should do so. Similarly, employers could quickly empty much of the ranks at these rallies by dismissing employees who attend and shout genocidal slogans. They are not hard to identify in an era where cameras are ubiquitous.

One of the best things the Jewish community can do is not be timid. They should wear skullcaps and Stars of David with pride and put mezuzahs on their front doors. When the Islamists and their radical left allies sense fear on the other side, they only become more aggressive.

And it is beyond time for the Muslim community to denounce the haters in their midst and remove the radical mullahs from the mosques where they preach. When so many remain silent, others perceive acquiescence. That is not helpful to either group.

National Post

Recommended from Editorial

1. 

   Vivian Bercovici: Yahya Sinwar was a force for evil

2. 

   Joe Varner: The only 'win' Israel should take is an Iran without nuclear weapons

Article content