Harsh words for evil deeds

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 21/10/2023 (896 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

”Need to understand the systematic, brutal cruelty of Hamas. Any organization like this has to be destroyed.” Canada’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Bob Rae, via X.

When the language of a diplomat is undiplomatic, the curious ask, “was he speaking for the government of his country?”

Bob Rae posted those words on his private X (formerly Twitter) account, where he says the views expressed are his own. He is not speaking for the Government of Canada.

I don’t know how many Canadians agree with Mr. Rae. But most would likely concur if they watch a two minute video attached to Rae’s tweet. In it, two members of an Israeli rescue team are reporting on what they saw in one of the many scenes of war crimes committed by Hamas.

Many of you have watched stories over the many years of terror in Israel.

When you see the aftermath at the blast scenes, you almost always see men in yellow jackets bagging body parts. It’s a job that none of us would ever want to do. But they do it solemnly, professionally and voluntarily. The organization that does the meticulous work is known as Zaka.

Without doing a scientific survey, I know that none of us would have wanted to travel to the scenes of the terror of Oct. 7 — only two weeks ago, in southern Israel. The following words are from one of the rescuers, Yossi Landau of Zaka, reporting on what he saw. ”We found bodies of an executed Jewish family. Parents and kids with tied hands, shot in the head, in one room. Both tortured before death: eyes carved out, fingers cut off. Were the parents forced to watch? Or the kids?”

You now have the context for Bob Rae’s statement. If you are one of those who started reading this column with a bucket of hostility toward Bob Rae’s remarks, have you changed your mind?

Do you think he is overreacting when he says the organization known as Hamas, must be destroyed?

If someone or some group did this to your family, would you have any hesitation in agreeing with Bob Rae?

Hamas has never made any bones about their mission.

They aren’t looking for peace with Israel.

They want to annihilate Israel. Beyond that, they wish to extinguish Jewish life around the world. There are those worldwide who agree with Hamas’ mission. Some live in Canada. That’s why there is extra security in Manitoba and the rest of our country at Jewish institutions, including schools, community centres, and synagogues.

Free Press readers know that the frequency of antisemitic incidents in Canada has been rising over the last decade and the terror attack of Oct. 7, 2023, guarantees that trend will continue. In fairness, it needs to be said that the incidents of Islamophobia have also been rising and recent events in the Middle East also fuel the rising hatred against Muslims.

I have zero doubt that Manitoba’s new premier, Wab Kinew, appreciates this stark reality of life in 2023, where minorities have every reason to feel less safe in a community they call home.

Kinew doesn’t need lectures from me on anyone else on what it’s like to be a minority that is frequently the target of hate, and even more frequently, the object of diminished expectations.

In this newspaper this week, Chuck Davidson, the CEO of the Manitoba Chamber of Commerce was asked for a statement in response to the swearing in of the Kinew government. He said he wanted to give the new premier the benefit of the doubt.

Yesterday the Free Press published a letter to the editor from Winnipeg resident Irwin Corobow, admonishing Davidson. “Giving the benefit of the doubt is akin to saying we do not really believe they will do a good job or keep to their promises.”

Mr. Corobow is not picking a fight. He’s offering fair criticism.

It’s incumbent upon all leaders in the community we call Manitoba to give the new premier much more than ”the benefit of the doubt.”

In light of the increasing dangers faced by far too many members of our community, we owe the new premier the benefit of our goodwill. This isn’t Oct. 7, in Israel.

It’s Oct. 20 in Manitoba. We are fortunate to be living here.

We all benefit if Premier Kinew feels community encouragement rather than disparagement. We had too much of the latter in the 2023 campaign.

Charles Adler is a longtime political commenter and podcaster. charles@charlesadler.com