NP View: Globalizing the 'intifada' means war on Canada

Activists in Canada and elsewhere who want to “globalize the intifada” are effectively calling for the murder of Jews. There should be no doubt this is what the phrase means for many of those who would put it into action. To naively — or cynically — argue otherwise is to wilfully ignore reality and risk Canadian lives.

While the word “intifada” means “uprising” in Arabic, anyone using the term, particularly in the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is very likely referring to the “Second Intifada” between 2000 and 2004 in Israel. Following the breakdown of yet another peace process, 1,053 Israelis, 70 per cent of whom were civilians, were killed, largely by Palestinian terrorists attacking public places like markets and buses. In all, there were 130 suicide bombings. The purpose was to target civilians in civilian areas.

Some activists may claim that the term “globalize the intifada” refers to non-violent resistance. We suggest such people are either disingenuous or extremely naive. Last week, activists on social media suggested targeting Canadian media over how Israel and Gaza is covered, with calls to “globalize the intifada” at “The Globe and Mail,” “CanadaLand” and “National Post.” These are threats. They may lack credibility, or were made to posture in front of other activists, but this language is hardly benign.

The same evil that motivated the murder of 15 Jews celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach by father and son terrorists, reportedly inspired by ISIS, or the Islamic State, exists in Canada. Just on Friday it was reported that three men were arrested in Toronto for “targeting women and members of the Jewish community,” one of whom faces terrorism charges, including links to ISIS. Last summer, a father and son duo was arrested for planning a terrorist attack, also in Toronto, and also inspired by ISIS. Last year, a man in Canada on a student visa was arrested in Quebec on his way to New York to carry out a mass shooting at a Jewish centre to mark the anniversary of October 7, where Hamas slaughtered 1,200 people in southern Israel.

It would be one thing if these arrests happened within a society that was universally repulsed by antisemitism and the murder of Jewish people. But that is terrifyingly not the case. After the Hamas attack in 2023, and before Israel had even responded, protests began celebrating the murder, rape and kidnapping of Jews in Israel. Deeming the terrorist attack “Palestinian resistance” has lent cover to this movement, which has grown only more bold.

They march through Jewish neighbourhoods, labelling random people “baby killers.” They target synagogues, Jewish hospitals, Jewish schools and Jewish owned businesses, for intimidation and harassment. And it’s not just Jews being targeted. They disrupt Christmas markets and block roads to pray.

Police avoid arresting people, even though plenty of laws are regularly being violated. It is illegal to block streets, sidewalks and buildings and there are laws against intimidation and harassment. Instead of containing the hate marches, however, police look on, often threatening to arrest journalists recording these protests, or target Jews who have shown up to counter protest.

Such behaviour has become entirely normalized in Canada, particularly in Toronto and Montreal. This has been abetted by progressive activists, professors and politicians who have sought to endorse or excuse what is clearly antisemitic behaviour. The federal government’s policy towards the Middle East has been directed towards appeasing this movement, most notably with the recognition of “Palestine,” even though no such state exists or ever has.

When anti-Israel activists illegally camped on university property across the country last year, they were supported by faculty members. A judge in Quebec ruled against McGill University’s petition to have the protesters removed. Organizations like the Palestinian Youth Movement, with alleged ties to terrorist groups, freely operate in Canada. A pro-terrorist organization has contributed to an upcoming exhibit at the taxpayer funded Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Six MPs, mostly Liberals, went to visit the West Bank earlier this month funded by a charity that is financed by a group deemed by multiple countries to have ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Hate incidents targeting Jews have exploded since October 7, but politicians who do condemn antisemitism rarely do so on its own. They almost always condemn it alongside “Islamophobia.” Hate-motivated acts against Muslims have tragically taken Canadian lives over the last decade, but false equivalency misreads this moment.

Everywhere in Canada, institutions have been hijacked by those pushing extreme antisemitic and anti-western views. While some progressives may not be racist themselves, they’re nonetheless convinced that the so-called “Pro-Palestinian” movement is about social justice and they choose not to look more deeply.

Whether out of crass political calculation, fear of being called “racist” or “Islamophobic,” or the misguided belief that the ideology of Hamas and other Islamic extremists is consistent with  western socialism, far too many in Canada are comfortable with endorsing terrorism.

National Post