Politicians silent as Jewish women and children terrorized

Recently in the Winnipeg Sun, guest columnist Lawrence Pinsky KC described a scene that should never occur in a Canadian city. At Folklorama’s Israel Pavilion, Shalom Square, held at the Jewish Community Centre, a mob harassed Jewish community members and their guests. They shouted vile sexualized slurs at women and girls, screamed threats like “Hamas is coming for you,” and played recordings of gunshots and screaming children.

As Pinsky, a lawyer and a former Human Rights Adjudicator, wrote, “This was not just offensive speech, it was a breach of Canadian law, a violation of the basic right to safety, and a profound failure of leadership.” That is the truth. What happened was not a protest. It was an organized display of hate. It was intimidation. It was a crime. And it must be treated as a crime.

The Criminal Code defines harassment as conduct that causes someone to reasonably fear for their safety. It includes threats and intimidation. Pinsky noted that what happened at the Jewish Community Centre fits that definition. It also meets the test of Unlawful Assembly. The law is clear: if three or more people gather with a common purpose and conduct themselves in a way that causes the public to reasonably fear the peace will be disturbed, the assembly is unlawful. That is exactly what occurred.

Yet no decisive action was taken. Police on the ground did little more than separate those waving Israeli and Canadian flags from Hamas supporters. As Pinsky pointed out, the officers explained they were limited by orders from above. That is the oldest and weakest excuse of all, “we were just following orders.” The result was that women and children were left to be threatened and terrorized while politicians and senior officials looked the other way.

The blame does not rest with the constables standing outside the pavilion. It rests with political leadership that directs police priorities and with Crown prosecutors who decide whether to proceed with charges. Winnipeg’s mayor said nothing. The Premier said nothing. The Justice Minister, who is directly responsible for ensuring the Criminal Code is upheld, said nothing. The Crown has not moved forward with charges even though the evidence is overwhelming. The people of Winnipeg deserve an explanation.

Months ago, the NDP government announced a dedicated Crown prosecutor to deal with antisemitism. Where is that person? If the position exists, they are invisible. If it doesn’t, Manitobans were misled, again by this Premier. Meanwhile, the Jewish community, the most targeted religious minority in Canada, was left to endure threats and intimidation without protection.

Freedom of speech is not an excuse. The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled on this. Speech that becomes harassment, intimidation, or forced confrontation is not constitutionally protected. Pinsky summed it up clearly: “What the Jewish community, its guests, and supporters were forced to endure was not protected free expression. It was criminal.”

This is where the silence becomes deafening. Mayor Gillingham said nothing. Premier Kinew said nothing. Opposition Leader Obby Khan, himself a Muslim, said nothing. Why? Who among the pro-Palestinian protesters holds such influence that even the Premier and Mayor stay quiet? Or are they simply afraid? Afraid of protests, afraid of bad headlines, afraid of losing votes. I saw this myself when I sat on the City Council and later in the Legislature. Politicians bend over backwards for photo ops with various cultures, but when it comes to confronting hate directed at the Jewish community, they disappear.

Prime Minister Mark Carney recently said, “Muslim values are Canadian values.” Do you agree with that statement? What are Canadian values? Certainly not values that allow mobs to celebrate a terrorist organization. Not threats of violence against women and children. Not open harassment in the streets of Winnipeg. That is not Canadian. Canadian values are safety, order, equality, and respect.

This behaviour must stop. The people who harassed women and children at Shalom Square must be arrested. No more excuses. No more delay. We cannot allow Winnipeg to become a place where mobs celebrating Hamas, a terrorist regime, can terrorize families under the shield of so-called free expression. That is not Canada. That is not democracy. That is not freedom. This is against the law.

Ask yourself: would Mayor Gillingham or Premier Kinew have stayed silent if the same mob had gathered outside the Métis Pavilion and screamed similar threats? Would the police have been told to stand down? The reaction would have been loud, immediate, and forceful. The double standard is dangerous, and it is a betrayal of leadership.

The Mayor should have directed police to disperse the protesters the moment hate speech began. That is the line. Wave your flag, chant your slogans, that is free speech. But when you threaten people, when you glorify a terrorist group, when you terrify women and children, you cross the line into criminal behaviour. At that point, the law must be enforced, and arrests must be made. Instead, it appears someone high up told police to do less, not more. Instead of protecting citizens, they protected the mob. That is cowardice.

Where is the media? Why are front pages not showing images of Hamas supporters taunting Jewish families in Winnipeg? Why are these threats not being reported with the seriousness they deserve? Fear again, or perhaps an agenda. Either way, the public is being denied the truth. If not for Lawrence Pinsky’s courage, many would never know what truly happened.

Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper once told me in Winnipeg, “If you want to be in politics, you have to stand for something. Stand up without fear and do what’s right.” He was right. Leadership is not about appeasing angry mobs or pandering to voting blocs. Leadership is about protecting every citizen, equally, without hesitation and without fear.

We are allowing hate to win in Winnipeg. We are sending the message that intimidation works, that the law will not be enforced, and that Jewish families are on their own. That is unacceptable. I don’t care about race, colour, or creed. Every person in Winnipeg and every person in Canada deserves to feel safe. That is the basic promise of citizenship.

The Premier, the Justice Minister, the Mayor, and the Leader of the Opposition must act. They must enforce the law, direct the Crown to prosecute, and make arrests. They must send a clear message that Hamas supporters who threaten women and children will face consequences. If they cannot do that, then they do not deserve the offices they hold.

This is not freedom of speech. This is not Canada. This is a crime, and it must be treated as such. The time for silence is over. The time for fear is over. All Canadians deserve safety. All communities deserve protection. The only question left is whether our leaders have the courage to finally do their jobs.