MONTREAL — Cries in Arabic for the deaths of Jews heard during the Jan. 4 anti-Israel demonstration through the streets of downtown Montreal show what the conflict between Israel and Hamas is truly about, Rabbi Reuven Poupko told the community rally in support of Israel in Montreal last week.
More than 1,000 people were at Congregation Beth Israel Beth Aaron.
“We know what this means, we’ve heard it before. It’s not about Israel or its policies, it’s about the Jewish people. Our very existence is a provocation to Hamas and its supporters.”
Without being specific, Rabbi Poupko expressed a sense of betrayal over human rights defenders who have found common cause with Hamas and denounce “the only bastion” in the Middle East of the principles they claim to cherish.
A standing-room only audience of about 1,000 people attended the rally, held at Rabbi Poupko’s Congregation Beth Israel Beth Aaron. The crowd frequently waved Canadian, Quebec and Israeli flags and broke into spontaneous singing of Hebrew songs and chants of “Am Yisrael chai.”
They watched a live feed from the Negev city of Be’er Sheva, which is now within range of the Hamas missiles.
Israeli Consul General Yoram Elron received a standing ovation after declaring that “enough is enough” of Hamas’ shelling of southern Israel thousands of times over the past eight years.
“Critics speak of a lack of proportionality in Israel’s response, but the question is which other nation would show so much restraint?”
He vowed that Israel will continue to fight until its citizens can live in peace.
Rabbi Poupko delivered a fiery address, his voice breaking at times. He castigated Hamas for using children, women and the elderly as “human shields” against Israeli fire. The Israel Defence Forces do all they can to avoid civilian casualties, yet the army continues to be “libelled” by CNN, the BBC and other media, he said.
“Too many Israelis are in their graves today because we were more concerned about their kids than they are,” he said.
“Peace will come the day Palestinian leaders care about their own children as much as we do about them,” he charged, dismissing the “crocodile tears” over Palestinian civilian deaths as cynical.
He also deplored what he views as the silence from the world when “Muslims kill Muslims” in Sudan, Somalia and Iraq, and Russia killed “tens of thousands” of Muslims in Chechnya.
“The explanation is that the loss of Muslim life will only be protested when they can point an accusatory finger at Israel.”
Rabbi Chaim Steinmetz, who co-chairs the Canada-Israel Committee’s Canadian Rabbinic Caucus with Rabbi Poupko, also charged that Israel is being libelled. Charges that its army disregards Palestinian civilian lives is “the modern-day equivalent of the blood libel,” he said.
He pledged the community’s unwavering support. “Israel is our home, our heart, our hope, and we will be there for Israel no matter what.”
Mount Royal Liberal MP Irwin Cotler sent a message from Jerusalem accusing Hamas of war crimes and a “genocidal objective in the deliberate targeting” of Israeli civilians. He said using Palestinian civilians as “human shields” when it launches missiles at Israel also constitutes a war crime. Fellow Liberal, Marlene Jennings, MP for Notre-Dame-de-Grâce-Lachine and deputy house leader, attended the rally.
The New Democratic Party (NDP) was criticized by Federation CJA president Marc Gold for its position on the conflict between Israel and Hamas, and he suggested a split exists within the party.
“We do have friends in the NDP and they are as sick at heart as we are with the leadership of that party,” Gold said.
In contrast, Gold said the Harper government has remained steadfast in its support of Israel in this current crisis, and the Liberals and even the Bloc Québécois have shown an understanding of Israel’s actions.
Gold urged community members to write to supportive politicians to thank them. He said the Quebec media, overall, have also been more understanding of Israel in this conflict than in the past and should receive due praise.
The evening’s MC, Jason Caron, co-chair of the Quebec-Israel Committee (QIC), said the Montreal Jewish community deplores the loss of all innocent lives, whether Israeli or Palestinian.
Esther Mayer, representing the Israeli community in Montreal, said she feels the world has a double standard when it comes to Israel, remaining indifferent when Israel is attacked. She’s in favour of peace with the Palestinians, “but not at the cost of my annihilation.”
About 15 people who identified themselves as Jews opposed to Israel’s offensive in Gaza held placards outside the synagogue. Security was pervasive, with the Montreal police, Côte St. Luc’s public security force, the federation’s security staff and private guards on hand.
The QIC says it observed numerous calls in Arabic for the killing of Jews among the 5,000 people who demonstrated on Jan. 4 and has posted videotapes on its website. Executive director Luciano Del Negro told The CJN that the community is looking into a possible legal pursuit for incitement.
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