LILLEY: Hamasniks disrupt Boxing Day shopping at Eaton Centre

Families and shoppers were just trying to enjoy the light show and pick up some Boxing Day deals at the Eaton Centre when the Hamasniks showed up.

The people who have decided that you can’t enjoy anything without their interruption, the people who seem to control the streets and spaces both public and private in Toronto.

“Free, free Palestine!” came the chant from one of the masked organizers using a megaphone.

Yes, that’s right, they used multiple megaphones indoors to blast their message and damage the hearing of those unfortunate enough to be nearby.

Since Oct. 7, 2023, we’ve been told that these protests are just about supporting oppressed Palestinians against the more powerful Israel. It has never been about that – it has always been about domestic support here in Canada for a terrorist group on the other side of the world.

And that was illustrated once again on Saturday with the all-too-familiar chants that have been ringing out over the last two years.

“From the river to the sea,” a young woman can been seen chanting, trying to get the crowd of mostly shoppers to join in.

That chant of course in full is, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” It is a call for the elimination of Israel, of a Palestinian State from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea.

Protesters denounce ‘genocide’ while calling for Israel’s destruction

While the protesters were denouncing what they call a genocide, they were calling for the destruction of Israel and, by extension, the removal of Jews from the Middle East. Oh, and they were also calling for violence to ensure this happens.

“Intifada right now,” the woman screamed into the megaphone as some supporters joined in.

Intifada is the term used to describe several armed uprisings against Israel using suicide bombings, gun and knife attacks against civilians, the blowing up of cafes and public buses filled with civilians. This is what these useful idiots are calling for when they take over a mall or march in our streets calling for Intifada right now.

They want armed insurrection.

We saw where that leads two weeks ago when two men who had pledged allegiance to ISIS opened fire on a beach festival to mark the first day of Chanukah. They fired indiscriminately at people gathered to celebrate bringing light into the world killing 15 including a 10 year-old girl and an 87 year-old Holocaust survivor.

If you don’t think that what we saw at the Eaton Centre on Friday is connected to what we saw at Bondi Beach then you aren’t paying attention. This is what globalizing the intifada looks like, this is where the calls for intifada right now lead.

They also lead to events like the ones we saw in a pair of apartment buildings in Toronto this month where vandals broke in to rip the mezuzah, a tiny Torah scroll, from the doors of Jewish residents.

It’s a quick and dirty message; Jews aren’t welcome here.

Jewish seniors in Toronto have nothing to do with Israel’s government in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv, yet they are held responsible in Toronto.

We’ve seen intimidation of Toronto’s Jewish community, the shooting of schools, attacks on Jewish owned businesses since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.

While some aspects of the response by Toronto Police have been exemplary, such as the command centres still in place, others have been less than stellar. The ongoing targeting of Jewish neighbourhoods is one example, the lawlessness that appears to go with the protests and marches in our streets.

On Wednesday, protest organizers are threatening to interrupt New Year’s Eve celebrations starting with a rally at Queen’s Quay and then moving from there. Yes, as I said, this is a group that believes Toronto should be unlivable until their political demands are met.

At a certain point, if this isn’t dealt with by police and political leadership, the public will eventually take matters into their own hands. That isn’t ideal, it isn’t where we should hope to move as a society, but if things don’t improve, that’s exactly where we will end up.

blilley@postmedia.com