In the year since the Hamas attack on Israel, a battle for the hearts, minds, support and sympathy has been raging in Canada, particularly in Montreal.
On Oct. 7, 2023, the world was plunged into a nightmare from which we have yet to awaken.
Early that morning, over 1,200 Israelis were slaughtered, raped, mutilated and burned, when Hamas terrorists breached a border wall and carried out a rampage in nearby kibbutzes, on military bases and at a music festival. As many as 250 people, including grandmothers and babies, were taken as hostages to the Gaza Strip, where about 100 remain, both dead and alive.
It has been a year of hell that shows no sign of relenting. But another war is playing out closer to home. A battle for the hearts, minds, support and sympathy has been raging in Canada, particularly in Montreal. Instead of coming together in shared grief, people are turning against each other, while the social fabric rips.
Mourning loved ones and compatriots is heart-breaking. Seeing beloved far-off places be destroyed is gut-wrenching. Anger and outrage are normal responses to war — which is always a nasty business. But in some cases, these strong emotions have warped into hatred here in Montreal.
Universities in Montreal have found themselves on the front lines of a war they have no control over. While campuses have long been hotbeds of protest and the sparks igniting social movements, there’s something amiss this time. Differences of opinion have turned personal. Reasoned debate has descended into intimidation. Hate speech has been amplified under the guise of free speech. Some students, especially those who are Jewish, fear revealing their identities, let alone voicing their views, as an intolerance for dissent grows.
The lower field at McGill University was occupied for months by pro-Palestinian protesters who erected tents. After failing to obtain injunctions and pleading for help from governments and police, McGill only succeeded in dislodging the protesters by hiring private security to dismantle the fenced-in enclave.
Université du Québec à Montréal was the site of a smaller and shorter-lived encampment at its science pavilion, though it managed to defuse the standoff with negotiations.
Some accuse universities of trying to stifle protest and free expression. But tensions on campuses have escalated to the point some students and staff don’t feel safe.
With the anniversary of Oct. 7, the city is even more on edge.
The polarization since last Oct. 7 has not only endured but intensified, as the shock has worn off and positions on the war have become more entrenched.
This climate will not stop the bloodshed, bring about a ceasefire, ensure the release of the remaining hostages and kickstart negotiations for a two-state solution.
If we, in the relatively safe and peaceful country of Canada, are this divided, if we, in the diverse and vibrant city of Montreal, are this torn, if we as human beings can’t have a civil discussion with our neighbours, colleagues or classmates, how can we hope to undertake the difficult dialogue and make the painful compromises needed to end the war and find a permanent way out of one of the world’s most intractable tragedies?
If we’ve learned anything at all after this year of hell and heartbreak, it’s that fighting only leads to more fear, misery, pain, suffering, violence, loss, destruction, strife and death. Unless we start talking and reclaim our common humanity, there will be no peace, either in the Middle East or in Montreal.