Concordia riot obscene

Editorial

Former Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu was prevented from giving a speech at Montreal's Concordia University Monday by a mob of violent political zealots supporting Yasser Arafat and other Arab terrorist regimes, including Iraq.

Students and others who opposed the former leader's presence on campus formed a mob and destroyed property, threatened people and, in at least one case, physically terrorized a Holocaust survivor. Thomas Hecht, a 73-year-old Holocaust survivor came to hear Netanyahu but found himself surrounded by pro-Palestinian students who kicked him, spat on him and verbally assaulted him while declaring what they called a "Palestinian checkpoint."

One activist declared "There's no free speech for hate speech." (Try to ignore the sick humor illustrated by a supporter of Arafat and Saddam Hussein pontificating on the limits of free expression.)

In media interviews following the speech that never was, Netanyahu seemed perversely pleased by the turn of events. According to the National Post, Netanyahu viewed the incident as a taste for Canadians of what Israelis confront daily.

"[Canadians] were given an opportunity to see firsthand the mad zealotry that endangers our world," said the former prime minister. "That same mentality – whose offshoot you see here – runs sovereign states, and those states are amassing weapons of mass destruction."

This much is true: Canadians did get a sample on Monday of a terrible fanaticism that, gratefully, we rarely see.

Netanyahu is correct that the incident should open many eyes to the reality of fanaticism faced by Israel daily. But Bibi's apparent relish that extremism is alive and well in Montreal is unbecoming. He of all people should know that this sort of political illness should not be wished on one's worst enemies.

Still, Canadian Zionists will use this incident to reinforce the notion that they can claim the moral high ground – and they'll be correct in doing so.

But, as Canadians, we should see Monday's events first and foremost for what they are: A disgraceful mob attack and a stain on our country's reputation.

^TOP