Two days before the first anniversary of the deadliest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust, Palestinians and their motley group of supporters gathered in downtown Toronto to celebrate the cause of Palestinian “resistance” to Israel’s very existence.
Chanting incendiary slogans such as “Israel will soon be gone, free, free Palestine,” and waving Palestinian and Lebanese flags, they packed Dundas Square to mark Israel’s darkest ever moment.
On October 7, in a day of infamy, Hamas terrorists from the Gaza Strip broke into southern Israel and murdered 1,200 civilians and soldiers and abducted 250 Israelis and foreigners.
One of numerous pro-Palestinian demonstrations around the globe on October 5, this rally was organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement, a radical outfit that advocates a one-state solution within the framework of Israel’s destruction.
The demonstration unfolded peacefully on a mild and sunny autumn afternoon as the Middle East careened toward a full-blown regional war. With Israel fighting on two fronts against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, and with Israeli forces poised to mount a massive retaliatory attack on the Islamic fundamentalist regime Iran, the puppet master of its Axis of Resistance alliance, the Middle East was on fire.
The vast majority of the protesters were Palestinians in their twenties and thirties, but they were joined by sympathizers ranging from communists and socialists to lesbians and anti-Zionist Jews. These were indeed strange bedfellows, expediently brought together in a green/red front by their undying hatred of the one and only Jewish state.
One middle-aged woman with bottled blonde hair held aloft a bizarre sign: “Move Israel to Florida.” Speaking in what sounded like a Russian accent, and flashing her diamond-studded crucifix, she claimed that Israeli Jews would feel very much at home in the sunshine state. She insisted she was not antisemitic. Presenting a weird conspiracy theory, she said that the United Nations and the United States are both controlled by Zionists. She insisted that the scores of United Nations resolutions tabled against Israel over the decades were nothing but an elaborate “show.”
Still other protesters carried home-made placards accusing Israel of genocide and ethnic cleansing, branding it as a terrorist state, calling for an arms embargo, and demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and Lebanon.
Kiosks displayed an eclectic assortment of books, pamphlets and newspapers defaming Israel as a nasty, imperialist state.
Palestinian men and women with bullhorns shouted a litany of chilling and plaintive slogans.
“There is only one solution — intifada solution.” “Long live the intifada, long live Palestine.” “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” “Stop bombing our children, stop bombing our women, stop bombing our men, stop bombing our people.” “Five, six, seven, eight, Israel is a terrorist state.” “Hey, hey, ho, ho, the occupation’s got to go.” “No justice, no peace.” “Long live Lebanon.”
There was no mention of a two-state solution. The message conveyed by the demonstrators was perfectly in alignment with Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran, which categorically reject Israel’s right to statehood.
As I wandered around, I picked up several flyers.
The missive from the International Bolshevik Tendency condemned Israel’s incursion into Lebanon and its air strike that killed Hassan Nasrallah, the secretary-general of Hezbollah.
Snippets from it:
“The invasion and targeted assassinations are clearly designed to sabotage any attempts to reach a deal to end the year-long genocide in Gaza.”
“The assault on Lebanon, like the Gaza genocide and the brutal occupation of the West Bank, is not an act of ‘self-defence’ or retaliation. Instead, it is an extension of and a ‘new phase’ of the war to assert dominance and establish a Greater Israel, ethnically cleanse the region of the Palestinian people and annex large swathes of territory.”
“The Israeli state, backed by Western imperialism, seeks to dismantle any opposition that threatens its supremacy, viewing Hezbollah, like Hamas, as just such an obstacle. In Lebanon, as in Gaza, Israel is indiscriminately killing civilians while dubiously claiming to target only the armed militias.”
“The international working class must not only condemn Zionist terror but seek to actively intervene to defend the Palestinians and undermine the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) with strikes, ‘hot-cargoing’ of war materiel and labor-led mass mobilizations, including the Israeli working class.”
The flyer omitted a lot.
The wars in Lebanon and Gaza were initiated by Hezbollah and Hamas, both of which demand Israel’s eradication. Israel’s objective in Lebanon is to rid southern Lebanon of Hezbollah so that 60,000 displaced Israelis can return to their homes along and near the Lebanese border. Israel’s goal in Gaza is to ensure that Hamas is dismantled militarily and never governs Gaza again.
I spoke to a representative of the International Bolshevik Tendency, and he said it favors a socialist federation in what is now Israel. He told me he opposes all forms of nationalism.
Another flyer, from Socialist Action, compared Hamas’ murderous assault on October 7 to a “prison break.” It likened Israel’s existence to “76 years of brutal occupation,” accused Israel of “waging an unrelenting extermination campaign” in Gaza, and expressed glee that Axis of Resistance “projectiles are penetrating” Israel’s Iron Dome missile defence system.
It also described the Palestinians as being in “the forefront of resistance to world imperialism.” It charged Israel with exploiting Holocaust survivors for its own ends. It regards a two-state solution as “a cruel coverup for permanent racism and ethnic cleansing.” And it demands the end of the “Zionist apartheid” state and its replacement by “a democratic and secular Palestine for all its residents: Muslims, Jews, Christians and atheists.”
Before I left Dundas Square, I talked briefly to an elderly Jewish man, a fervent anti-Zionist who has relatives in Israel. He was once an Israeli patriot. During the Yom KippurWar, he rushed to Israel to be of help. But now his eyes are wide open, and his fervent hope is that Israel can be replaced with a secular democratic state.
When I asked him to define the phrase “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” he replied that it was simply a call for a one-state solution where Muslims, Jews and Christians can live in peace and amity.
It was of no importance to him that Israel’s just claim to its land is rooted deeply in history, culture, religion and language. His rejection of Israel’s right to exist converged with the views of the protesters on the street.