Adedokun Waliyu 
“October 7 is proof that we are almost free,” the speaker yelled as “protesters” marched past Parliament Hill. “Long live October 7th, long live the resistance,” the speaker called out to cheers from the crowd of thousands.
This was Saturday, in Ottawa, in Canada, in front of our Parliament buildings.
Just pause for a moment and think about this. We had people cheering for a brutal terrorist attack that saw innocent men, women and children killed, women raped, hostages taken, and our political class was virtually silent.
Lest you think this was one errant speaker at an event attended by thousands, that’s not the case. In video after video posted by those supportive of the protests, they made it clear, they support Hamas, and they don’t want Jews in the Middle East.
“196 days and our resistance is still standing strong,” one of the protest organizers bellowed through the official sound system on Saturday.
For those keeping count, 196 days before Saturday was Oct. 7, the day that Hamas invaded Israel and carried out the most brutal attacks. I’ve walked the kibbutz settlements that were attacked, I’ve been to the site of the Nova Music Festival that was attacked, I’ve seen the gory aftermath of these attacks.
The crowds in Ottawa on Saturday cheered on those attacks, they sang about the resistance and how it was legitimate. This is mainstream Canada in 2024 it seems.
There has been no breathless reporting by our national television networks on these horrific statements, cheers and chants. Compare this to the breathless coverage of a lone Confederate flag on the outskirts of the Freedom Convoy protests in 2022.
The entire protest movement was painted with the Nazi brush by the media and the political class for a flag that never made it to the main protest.
The so-called protesters in Ottawa this weekend didn’t just say that they approved of Oct. 7 and that they supported the resistance, they also claimed Jews should get out of Israel. In a chant that has become a fan favourite at these pro-Hamas hate-filled rallies, the crowd, led by a speaker on a microphone, chanted out that Jews have no connection to the Middle East and should just go back to Europe.
It’s bizarre, it’s not historically accurate and it’s obviously hate-filled, but it’s now common in the streets of Canada.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre was the first to condemn the rally in Ottawa and its hate filled message on Sunday.
“I condemn these pro-genocide, anti-Semitic chants. We stand with Jews in Canada and around the world against these malicious words and deeds,” Poilievre posted to social media at 1:28pm on Sunday.
Just before 7:30 pm on Sunday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had a comment on the protests.
“There is a difference between peaceful protest and hateful intimidation,” Trudeau said. “It is unconscionable to glorify the antisemitic violence and murder perpetrated by Hamas on October 7th. This rhetoric has no place in Canada. None.”
It sounds like a strong statement, but this has been happening across the country for the last 196 days as the pro-Hamas protesters are willing to remind us, and Trudeau has been weak beyond belief.
The mask is off, it is there for all to see.
These protests are consistently filled with people who openly cheer for Hamas, who wear pins or clothing glorifying Hamas spokesman Abu Obaida, who engage in the most vile anti-Semitism.
