Police were attacked, cars burned, buildings smashed, fires lit, and calls for revolution and to globalise the intifada.

As you might expect, it was the usual suspects: Pro-Palestinian groups, supporters of terrorist organisations such as Hamas and Hezbollah, Marxist radicals, anti-capitalists, anti-NATO activists, and other revolutionaries and anarchists.

Perhaps because of who these protesters were, there was little to no coverage in mainstream media.

Whether such violence by these groups has become normalised so that politicians and media ignore them is hard to know.

What is obvious is a degree of complicity to not put the spotlight on these groups.

While a grab bag of dissidents, they all share a similar aim - the destruction of the West, it's Judeo-Christian values, and the rights and freedoms we have come to cherish.

Add to this a strong dose of antisemitism and you have quite the cocktail.

These are not simply my impressions - these are represented by the words of the protestors themselves, explicitly calling for the destruction of Canada, of the United States, and the Jews and Israel.

Now you would think it would be good for media to shed some light on these people - some who appear to have fled their home countries but thought, for good measure, to bring the violence with them.

But again, no.

There seems to be an increasing inability for politicians and media to focus on who these people are, the beliefs behind them, or what they aim to achieve.

Not only a Canadian problem

In New Zealand, we have the same groups here, and while we have not yet seen this level of violence, the same mindsets prevail.

It is also supported by woke commentators such as Max Harris who wrote recently in The Post of Hezbollah (an indisputable terrorist group) as a legitimate parliamentary party and social service provider in Lebanon.

This has come as quite a surprise to various Lebanese and Iranian friends of mine, as well as to anyone with even the most rudimentary knowledge of foreign affairs.

As these friends and others have pointed out, The Post has not accepted any rebuttal to such an egregious and biased opinion piece.

Not only do we have to contend with such unbalanced opinion pieces, but also to have events that do not support the narrative (such as violent riots in Montreal) being ignored.

More positively, the response from Canada's Conservative Party leader, Pierre Poilievre, has been 100% spot on.

He also rightly targets Prime Minister Justin Trudeau who, while Montreal burned, danced away at a Taylor Swift concert and again finds it near impossible to call out the ‘who' involved. Pierre writes:

You [Justin Trudeau] act surprised. We are reaping what you sowed.

This is what happens when a Prime Minister spends 9 years pushing toxic woke identity politics, dividing and subdividing people by race, gender, vaccine status, religion, region, age, wealth, etc.

On top of driving people apart, you systematically break what used to bring us together, saying Canada is a "post-national state" with "no core identity."

You erased our veterans and military, the Famous Five and even Terry Fox from our passport to replace them with meaningless squirrels, snowflakes and a drawing of yourself swimming as a boy.

You opened the borders to terrorists and lawbreakers and called anyone who questioned it racist.

You send out your MPs to say one thing in a mosque and the opposite in a synagogue, one thing in a mandir and the opposite in a gurdwara.

You have made Canada a playground for foreign interference. You allowed Iran's IRGC terrorists to legally operate here for four years after they murdered 55 of our citizens in a major unprovoked attack.

You passed laws that release rampant offenders from prison within hours of their 80th arrest. And what is the result? Assassinations on Canadian soil, firebombings of synagogues, extremist violence against mandirs and gurdwaras, over 100 churches burned or vandalized (with barely any condemnation from you), all for a total 251% more hate crime.

And, while you were dancing, Montreal was burning. We won't let you divide us anymore. Call an election now. We will fire you and reclaim our citizenship, our values, our lives, our freedom and, most of all, our country.

• Simon O'Connor works for Family First and writes a regular blog on Substack.
• Republished with permission.

"The situation at present in Lebanon is very difficult, if not critical. It is not possible to make assumptions about what may happen in the future, but we know that the prospects are bleak" said Fr Michel Abboud, president of Caritas Lebanon, speaking to AsiaNews.

The humanitarian organisation is working tirelessly to support thousands of displaced people seeking refuge in its shelters.

The bombing, targeting primarily Hezbollah positions, follows reports that Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah was killed in an airstrike.

The Israeli Defence Forces claim that Nasrallah, along with other senior Hezbollah leaders, was "eliminated" in a strike authorised by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after making a speech at the UN.

Fr Abboud noted the widespread panic in Beirut where Israeli airstrikes have continued throughout the night. "People have poured into the streets not knowing where to go, without a shelter to hide in" he said.

Humanitarian toll mounting

Caritas Lebanon has received increasing calls from people seeking shelter at its centres. The organisation, already strained by the current crisis, is struggling to meet the growing demands.

"We have started working for this, as the situation is really complicated" Fr Abboud said. "Caritas staff are already on the ground, organising aid activities, working with the government and humanitarian associations... but it's not easy!"

The humanitarian toll is mounting, with at least 3,000 people killed or wounded in southern Lebanon. Fr Abboud estimates that over 70,000 people have fled their homes.

Caritas is coordinating with international organisations including the World Food Programme to provide aid. "We are working with major donors and the international community to prepare aid and cope with the emergency, but the needs are huge" Fr Abboud said.

Despite these efforts, the organisation is overwhelmed and Fr Abboud is appealing for further international support to continue its mission.

Sources

Asia News

Detroit Catholic

CathNews New Zealand

Members of the Islamic Ahlulbayt Foundation's Pakuranga mosque demonstrated in Aotea Square in support of the Lebanon group.

Chris Finlayson and Pakuranga MP Simeon Brown told mosque members of their concern at the support.

Mr Finlayson says Hezbollah has committed countless atrocities in the Middle East.

He says he made it clear to mosque leaders that their divisive attitude is not welcome in New Zealand.

Furthermore, New Zealand Police list the group as a terrorist organisation.

Finlayson says Hezbollah is extremist. He says the terrorist group causes misery and it's troubling to see open support for it in New Zealand.

Brown says the same mosque organised a visit and speech by an Iranian diplomat last year.

He says the speech was filled with hate.

Finally, he says it included a denial of the Holocaust and called for Israel's destruction.

Finlayson says concerned constituents prompted his and Brown's visit.

The pair say that, in future, they hope the mosque will condemn groups that commit acts of terror in the name of their religion.

In addition, New Zealand Jews have welcomed Finlayson's stand.

Jewish Council concern

The NZ Jewish Council says New Zealand's Jewish community feels Hezbollah's threat - this despite New Zealand's remoteness.

The council says Hezbollah bombed a Jewish community centre in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1994.

It killed 85 people and injured hundreds more.

The council says it's shocked to see New Zealanders support anti-Jewish terrorists.

The Auckland demonstrators are from the same group that denied the Holocaust last year in a YouTube post.

Sources:

• Scoop
• One Community Chronicle
• NZ Police
• Image credit: Islamic Ahlul Bayt Foundation NZ