Antisemitism in Canada digest #14

I first heard the words “it’s like Germany in the 30s” around December. I waved it off as things blown out of proportion. The Holocaust didn’t start at Auschwitz, but with painted swastikas and broken windows, I read later and dismissed it again. It is an exaggeration, I thought. It just cannot be… or can it?

Jews don’t know how to complain. We always compare all our experiences to the Holocaust, realize that our current situation is alright, all considered, and move on with studying, passing exams, working and driving our children to extracurricular activities. 

Yesterday I shared this thought with my friend, one of those, whom Biden likes to call “aggressive settlers”. My friend pondered for a few seconds, and then, without taking a breath, listed incidents from his childhood: a terrorist armed with a knife sprinted towards him; the bus his mother was riding was pelted with stones; he was surprised to even see a non-armored bus; the list of acquaintances who were killed in terror attacks.

“I always tell everyone that I had the happiest childhood in the best place on earth,” he concluded, “but I could have cried on every corner about having my childhood plagued by Palestinian terrorism.”

Sometimes people confess to no longer reading my digests because the information fills them with despair. I know a thing or two about despair. Sometimes I wonder, am I like that boy who cried wolf, and called wolves upon himself? But to be honest, the wolf's eyes were gleaming long ago and the teeth were chattering. For decades we turned a blind eye and pretended not to notice. Now the predators are too close, it is impossible to look away.

In the last week, all attention has been on the US campuses. So much has been written about it, I will only share a link to a movie showing the wolf’s grin at Columbia back in 2004. As a self-taught political analyst that I am, I will suggest that the fate of American, and perhaps even Western democracy, is being decided these days on the campuses of the Ivy league colleges.

1. The Canadian pro-terror student organizations have also called on students to set up encampments on campuses. It’s been pouring rain in Vancouver all week, so it is quiet at UBC. As an experienced tourist I can confidently say that camping in the rain isn’t fun.

However, at McGill University in Montreal there are over 100 tents already. The university has not commented yet.

2. Halal mortgage is last week’s news that I missed. According to Shariah law, devout Muslims are not allowed to pay interest on borrowed money. A few Islamic banks in Canada already offer mortgages that adhere to this restriction. They are structured differently, with fees and/or equity participation. Trudeau wants to force all Canadian banks and lending institutions to offer Halal mortgages.

This initiative isn’t antisemitic, it is just dumb. If the bank is ever forced to foreclose when a Halal mortgage borrower fails paying the fees, it’s a PR disaster for the bank. If the Halal mortgages offer better conditions, but are only available to Muslims – it is discrimination based on religious grounds. If these mortgages are offered to everyone, it undermines the basic capitalist principles in democratic societies and the entire Canadian banking system.

It takes a considerable disregard for one's country, a country in an already challenging economic situation, to impose such demand on banks for the potential sake of winning a small percentage of votes. And the thought itself – that Canadian banks operating in accordance with Sharia law – is not a heartwarming one.

3. Speaking of Nazi Germany. In Coquitlam (a city near Vancouver) a swastika accompanied by a “Kill Jews”  inscription (not even Zionists! Jews) was painted on a bus stop. It was erased a few hours later, but truth be told, the sediment remains. The graffiti on the streets of Toronto is hardly any better.

4. This video compilation contains a quick recap of anti-Jewish protests in Canada over the Passover week. As much as we got used to it, in high concentration it is still shocking. A standalone video features Charlotte Kates, the heroine of my previous post and the leader of Samidoun (organization closely affiliated with PFLP and designated terrorist in Israel and Germany) screaming from the steps in front of the Vancouver Art Gallery: “Long live October 7”.

In the previous digest I described a demonstration in Ottawa where the chant “long live October 7” along with “October 7 showed that we are almost free” was used. Chrystia Freeland, the Canadian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance was asked whether these words constitute hate speech.

Choosing her words with great caution, she replied: “I wasn’t in Ottawa on that day, so it would be wrong for me to comment on this”. And then with a heavy sigh she lamented about the rise of antisemitism and islamophobia in Canada.

5. Supporters of terrorism refuse to accept the ban on wearing keffiyehs in the Ontario Parliament. The same law applies to everyone – any political symbolism is prohibited in the Parliament – but they still complain about discrimination. I’d argue that a scarf symbolizing the terrorist leader Arafat is not a political symbol but rather a pro-terror one, but I’m worried about skewing the islamophobia statistics in Canada.

Sarah Jama, a member of the Ontario Parliament, who was already reprimanded back in October for praising October 7th (when it was still considered unacceptable), refused to remove her keffiyeh, and the NDP issued an ultimatum, demanding that the keffiyeh be allowed. I have a feeling that I'll have to write about this topic again next week.

6. Thank you, everyone who signed my petition to reject the BCTF motion calling for mandatory Nakba and occupation education in BC schools. This week I mailed and emailed our signatures to the BC Minister of Education. I will be updating you on further developments.

7. Our government not only fails to combat terrorism, it also actively supports terrorists. A Pakistani citizen Zain Haq arrived in Canada on a student visa in 2019. Since then, he has been arrested at least 10 times. He participated in blockades of intersections, highways, bridges, railways, seaports, ferry terminals, and an airport before blockaged became mainstream. In fact, he barely missed a single blockade in British Columbia over the past five years.

Haq never denied his intention to continue breaking the law. However, this wasn’t enough to get him deported. The deportation order was issued based on violations of the student visa conditions. You see, criminal activities don’t leave much time to attend classes.

He was scheduled to be deported by Monday, April 22nd, but on Friday CBSA (Canada Border Services Agency) told him he could stay. 

“I myself was surprised”, admitted Zain Haq, put on his keffiyeh and rushed to block yet another bridge.

8. The title "Antisemitism Digest" does not fully capture the essence of the events. Jews are indeed the primary and most vulnerable target of Islamists and anarchists. But it is not only about the Jews. Arif Virani, the Canadian Minister of Justice, isn’t Jewish. He is a member of the Liberal Party, and I am unaware of any of his anti-Hamas or, god forbid, pro-Israel statements or actions. In fact, I found absolutely no comments from him on war or antisemitism, and his votes in the Canadian Parliament were as disgraceful as his entire party’s votes.

Nevertheless, today a pro-terror mob gathered outside his house. They screamed, waved, chanted, threatened, and frightened the neighbors. What was their goal? Chaos and lawlessness. Intimidation and anarchy.

In my yesterday's interview on the 9th channel of Israeli TV, the host concluded with the words: "None of this sounds very encouraging." Well, I thought to myself, obviously, it does not. If you were looking for optimism, you should have invited a different guest. Optimism is not my forte.

Never again is now.

PS: I am experimenting with a new format of embedding the links inside the digest, rather than adding them altogether in a comment. Let me know, whether you like it better or not.