Former Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to abandon a speaking engagement at Concordia University after what organizers billed as "a peaceful information picket" broke into a riot at the downtown Montreal campus. ... some 200 Palestinian supporters smashed through the glass façade of the building where Mr. Netanyahu was scheduled to speak. The Montreal police riot squad responded with tear gas and pepper spray. The protesters, many of them local activists who do not attend the university, crowded into the Henry F. Hall Building to toss chairs and newspaper boxes at police. At least five people were arrested, while hundreds more remained outside, closing off a downtown intersection. Classes were cancelled for the day.
Bibi spoke to reporters following the incident: "It's mad zealotry run amok... They're supporting Saddam Hussein, they're supporting Arafat, they're supporting bin Laden."
He seemed a tad pleased at what had happened. "I am glad that millions of citizens of Canada can see what this battle is about... [Canadians] were given an opportunity to see first-hand the mad zealotry that endangers our world. That same mentality -- whose offshoot you see here --runs sovereign states, and those states are amassing weapons of mass destruction."
Bibi did not comment explicitly on some of the rest of the "protesting" that went on yesterday:
"It was 1939 Europe all over again," said Thomas Hecht, 73, chairman of the Canada-Israel Committee's Quebec branch. About 25 protesters screaming "Palestinian checkpoint!" encircled Mr. Hecht, a Czechoslovakian-born Holocaust survivor, as he attempted to enter the Hall Building. Several protesters pushed him against a wall, spitting on him and kicking his ankles.
"This is a violation of all that Canadians value," a shaken Mr. Hecht said after he was guided to safety by another man and a group of journalists.
Police moved in with tear gas and pepper spray only after the windows were smashed. Earlier that morning, 24 riot police looked on as protesters spat on journalists and blocked them from entering the building. A demonstrator was permitted to chant slogans into a megaphone while perched atop a police van.
Ahmed, a 20-year-old Australian exchange student who would not give his last name, explained students had broken the windows "out of frustration with police brutality."
Protesters also grabbed Israeli flags and spat on a group of Jewish students who walked into the crowd singing Hebrew songs. "We were trying to show that peace is possible," said Dalia Lubell, as she pushed her way out of the angry crowd.
"Israeli provocation, as usual," said one protester, who refused to give his name.
David Battistuzzi, a Palestinian activist, said Mr. Netanyahu had no right to speak at Concordia.
"There's no free speech for hate speech," Mr. Battistuzzi, 24, a former Concordia student, said.
The Globe & Mail reports on more "peaceful demonstrations":
Montreal Rabbi Howard Joseph and his wife, Norma, a Concordia religion professor, were kicked and punched.
"The women aimed their punches at my breasts," Prof. Joseph said.
Gabriel Riff, who was trying to enter the building, said his kipa (head covering) was pulled off his head. "They threw it to the ground and kicked it away. When I tried to get it they kicked me," he said.
Elena (Middle East Realities) has a first-hand blogger's account of the incident.
Reporter Jonathan Kay waded into the fray himself:
Concordia University is the centre of militant Arabism in Canada, and it has recently seen a steady stream of extremists parade through its halls. (Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights, a prominent university group that organizes demonstrations, has circulated articles by Holocaust deniers alleging Israel is developing an "ethnic bomb" that will kill Arabs but not Jews.) But you never see Jews or anyone else coming to block SPHR from saying its piece. It is only among the school's Arabs -- many of whom, like Marouf, are immigrants from Arab nations where free speech is non-existent and anti-Semitic filth is widespread -- that it is considered acceptable to shut your opponent up by force.
Yesterday's fracas at Concordia was not the Middle East in miniature. I didn't see anyone strapped with mock explosives, and the protesters were careful to avoid burning an Israeli flag (as some protesters did in Toronto earlier this year). But there was still a climate of intimidation. When I tried to approach the Hall building, I was blocked by a crowd of protesters who declared they were creating "a Palestinian checkpoint." Many of the folks in yarmulkes -- including a pair of middle-aged men -- were shoved, kicked, smeared with ketchup meant to symbolize Palestinian blood, and otherwise harassed until they fled.
To the protesters -- well-steeped in the specious propaganda of the Arab world -- all of this was "legitimate resistance."
"Look what the police have done," a thin, friendly Concordia student named Ahmed told me, gesturing dramatically at a pane of smashed glass.
"But the protesters smashed the window," I said.
"Yes," he responded, "Out of frustration. Look at the way they're being treated!"
As we spoke, a group of Jewish students raised an Israeli flag. Almost immediately, a group of men chanting slogans in Arabic took it from them.
"Is that an act of frustration too?" I asked Ahmed, half seriously.
"They have no business taunting us," he said with great solemnity. "It's a provocation."
The "protest" had a specific aim. According to a notice in the on-line Montreal Muslim News last month: "The intention of this demonstration is to stop Netanyahu from speaking."
The National Post points out that the Concordia campus is no stranger to vile anti-Israeli antics.
But thanks to this incident, Concordia will not be holding any events at all related to Middle East issues for some time:
Concordia's rector, Frederick Lowy, said the university is studying tapes of the event with police and will take action, including expulsion, against students found to have been involved in the violence.
Until a university policy is developed, he instituted an immediate moratorium on public events dealing with the Middle East.
"Rational discourse is the very stuff of the university -- even heated argument -- provided there's no incitement or violence," Mr. Lowy said. "For us, this was a shameful event today."
As always, for the ongoing hate watch at Canadian universities, keep your eye on Damian Penny's blog (recently profiled in The Telegram)
Update Hillel distributed the following press release in response today:
Contact Montreal Hillel Executive Director Simon Bensimon, 514-845-9171, or Hillel Director of Communications Jeff Rubin 202-449-6534
Hillel Denounces Concordia Incident as Anti-Democratic
(Washington, D.C.-- September 10) Hillel condemns the violent, anti-democratic riot that prevented a Hillel-sponsored speech by former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Concordia University in Montreal yesterday.
"It is absolutely outrageous that on the eve of September 11 a mob could displace intellectual discourse with violence," said Hillel President and International Director Richard M. Joel. "This anti-democratic manifestation is a blow against academic freedom and the very basis of democracy: freedom of expression. The university should take disciplinary measures against those who perpetrated these acts and should revise policies to prevent similar outrages in the future."
Local newspapers report that police used pepper spray to control 200 demonstrators who occupied the building in which the former prime minister was scheduled to speak, throwing chairs and newspaper boxes at police. Police arrested at least five people as other demonstrators tried to get into the building by smashing a window. Individuals attempting to attend the Netanyahu lecture were physically attacked by the demonstrators.
Concordia Hillel student President Yoni Petel said: "Hillel students at Concordia will not cave in to this intimidation. This is a disgusting new low in anti-Israel activities."
"This incident violates the freedom, mutual respect and pluralism that make Canada great," said Ariela Cotler, the president of the Board of Montreal Hillel. "This violates the Canadian and Quebec Charters of Rights and Freedoms. It sets a poor precedent for the education of our young people. It should be denounced by anyone who wishes to instill pride in our culture and create a new generation of Canadian leaders."
Wayne Firestone, the director of Hillel's Center for Israel Affairs, added: "Hijacking a college campus with acts of violence, threats, intimidation and censorship is fundamentally undemocratic. Israel's detractors, in their distorted logic, are mistaken to view with pride the behavior of zealots."
Montreal Hillel is working with Jewish community leaders, university administrators and local officials to address the situation.
Montreal Hillel provides opportunities for 7,000 Jewish college students at nine universities and colleges in the Montreal metropolitan area to explore and celebrate their Jewishness. The largest Jewish campus organization in the world, Hillel: The Foundation for Jewish Campus Life, is committed to creatively empowering and engaging Jewish students through its network of over 500 regional centers, campus foundations, program centers and affiliates. Its long-standing dedication to building Jewish identity, while nurturing intellectual and spiritual growth in a pluralistic community, positions Hillel as a leader in building a stronger Jewish people and stronger Jewish future. For more information, visit www.hillel.org.
Update, 9-11: JTA has more coverage.
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