Israeli power in Canada is stunning. Toronto cancelling its flag raising is the latest example.
On Thursday Toronto city council voted to scrap a decades old tradition of flying foreign flags at government buildings. With half the city born outside of Canada, the practice was supposed to celebrate Toronto’s global heritage. But raising the Palestine flag was a step too far for the city’s power structure. When Canada formally recognized Palestine in the fall the city was compelled to heed community pressure and raise the long-occupied nation’s flag. In response genocidal Jewish supremacists went berserk, turning to the courts to stymie it. That failed but they kept at it as Tafsik posted in response to Thursday’s flag cancelation vote. The fanatic Jewish supremacist group noted:
“Tafsik stood at the front lines, filing a bold injunction to halt the raising of the Palestinian flag at City Hall.
“While that initial skirmish did not go our way, it was merely the opening move in a much larger campaign.
“Today, we stand triumphant. We have won the long game.
“Through unwavering persistence, we have ensured that the Palestinian flag will never again fly over Toronto City Hall. There is no place in our halls of government for a symbol birthed by the terrorist legacy of Yasser Arafat.”
As one extremist group trampled on a city tradition, another hardline genocidal Jewish supremacist organization defied university norms to host genocidaires soldiers. On Thursday Students Supporting Israel at Toronto Metropolitan University hosted soldiers of a military under investigation by the International Criminal Court for war crimes and crimes against humanity. As per the publicity for the event, the IOF soldiers were to share “first-hand experience” of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza. Reportedly, this is the fourth time Toronto Metropolitan University has allowed the group to host IOF soldiers despite policy restricting student groups’ activities (a student group wouldn’t be allowed to bring Russian soldiers to speak about fighting in Ukraine or a Palestinian resistance fighter).
Also this week the Israeli foreign minister openly interfered in Canadian affairs with nary a comment. Gideon Sa’ar met the advocacy agent of Canada’s Jewish federations to discuss subverting our civil liberties and promoting his country’s aggression. Foreign minister Sa’ar posted, “Held a Zoom discussion with Canadian Jewish leadership [Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs], on our war against the Iranian regime and Hezbollah, and the alarming wave of antisemitic attacks in Canada.
“I welcomed the passage of Bill C-9 in the House of Commons with the aim of strengthening the security of the Jewish community. Further steps are needed to confront the antisemitic attacks.”
A week earlier Israel’s ambassador to Canada Iddo Moed, reported the Canadian Press, “suggested Canada has to constrain certain freedoms in order to stop the influence of nefarious actors.” The Israeli government is openly working with Canada’s main Jewish organization to weaken the public’s right to protest war and genocide.
They are able to get away with it because of the political culture. Canadian politicians regularly express unmatched fidelity towards the lawless genocidal apartheid state. Justin Trudeau’s Liberal government organized a pizza party for Canadians fighting in the Israeli military, sued to block proper labels on wines from illegal settlements and announced that should Canada win a seat on the United Nations Security Council it would act as an “asset for Israel” on the council.
In 2016 Green Party leader Elizabeth May orchestrated a stunningly antidemocratic move to protect Israel from censure. After Green members voted to back boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) measures targeting sectors of the Israeli economy profiting from the occupation of the West Bank, Elizabeth May demanded a special general membership meeting be held to discuss a Palestine policy members endorsed prior to the August 2016 convention, at the convention and in a follow-up online poll. May forced the party to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars to hold a special convention four months later to discuss that single resolution.
In a more recent example of May protecting Israel from criticism, the party’s statement opposing the Israeli instigated war on Iran omitted that country. Israel wasn’t mentioned in a 300-word statement that criticized the US and Donald Trump multiple times.
And in another part of the ‘left’ thought leaders go to great lengths to deny Israeli/lobby power. John Clarke has repeatedly berated anti-genocide voices for pointing out Israel’s role in driving the cataclysmic war on Iran. The former Ontario Coalition Against Poverty organizer suggests it’s antisemitic or the “socialism of fools”.
But who could seriously deny Israel’s immense power in Canada? You’d have to be a fool or someone trying to impress those in power.
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