THIS PASSOVER, LET OUR PEOPLE GO
Passover, the oldest continuously observed religious ritual in the world, is being celebrated this week. It is the seminal story of slavery and liberation that continues to inspire successive generations of Jews and non-jews alike.
In this modern-day era of violent, widespread antisemitism, in which Jewish people are denigrated and those who seek our annihilation are lionized, it is time once more to invoke Moses' iconic exhortation to Pharoah: “Let my people go!”
First and foremost, free the hostages held in Gaza who have now been held by Hamas for more than 200 days, languishing in deteriorating health, suffering missing limbs and, reportedly, sexual abuse.
Our cry for freedom does not end with the release of the hostages. We continue to demand freedom from the hatred that has held the Jews accountable for numerous societal ills over the last 3,000 years. We demand freedom for Jewish people from the unbridled persecution, assault, defamation and double standards that have been increasingly normalized in public discourse worldwide and tacitly indulged by too many of our political and civic leaders.
Free us from the unprincipled discarding of foundational liberal values by ostensible liberals who have now aligned with some of the most malevolent forces in the world, including Iran and its proxies. Foundation for the defence of Democracies research fellow Hussain Abdul-hussain tweeted it well: “Only in bizarro world and America would Islamism be considered Progressive. In reality, Islamism is the most regressive, misogynist, racist, exclusivist, supremacist of ideologies. Read Rida and Qutb, or keep on getting your Ivy League education through Tiktok.”
Free us from the likes of Hamas and their apologists. Hamas is a genocidal, banned terrorist entity that invaded Israel on Oct. 7 and beheaded babies, raped and tortured young people at a music festival and kidnapped children and elderly Holocaust survivors — and then promised many more such attacks. No country in the world would allow a terrorist group that had just brutalized its most vulnerable citizens (and pledged to do it again) to continue operating on its borders with impunity.
Free us from the absurdly higher standards that Israel is held to, compared to any other country. Israel has faced condemnation by the United Nations General Assembly far more than all others combined, a phenomenon noted by UN Watch executive director Hillel Neuer in his written testimony to the United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs last June.
“In 2022, there was one resolution each to criticize Iran, Syria, North Korea, Myanmar and the U.S., for its embargo on Cuba,” Neuer wrote. “There were six resolutions last year on Russia because of its war in Ukraine. The total of all these is 13. Yet on Israel alone, the (General Assembly) passed 15 condemnatory resolutions. Not a single (General Assembly) resolution was introduced on the human rights situation in China, Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, Cuba, Turkey, Egypt, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Qatar, Vietnam, Algeria or 175 other countries.”
Free us from those who hide their disdain for Jews behind the pernicious facade of questioning Israel's right to exist. There are 22 states in the Arab League, 57 states in the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and a multitude of other countries representing a wide variety of religious traditions. There is exactly one Jewish country — a tiny strip of land, inhabited by its small indigenous Jewish population and a host of other minorities whose rights have been guaranteed and defended in the only true liberal democracy in the Middle East. And yet, it is the only country whose right to exist is continually called into question.
Free us from the false accusation that Israelis have denied Palestinians their own land. When the UN originally proposed a two-state solution before 1948, the Jews gratefully accepted — but the Arabs rejected every offer. In 1948, 1967 and 1973, Arab armies launched wars against Israel, and each time, Israel's vastly outnumbered army defeated them all. When Israel won territory in its defensive wars, it offered land back in exchange for peace.
The Arab League's response at the Khartoum summit after the 1967 war sums up the Arab and Palestinian position: “no peace with Israel, no negotiations with Israel and no recognition of Israel.” There have been other significant Israeli offers rejected, and Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza in 2005 — only for Hamas to turn it into a launching pad for attacks. If the Palestinians ever wish to achieve their national aspirations, they must accept living next to Israel, not instead of Israel.
Free us from the media's irresponsible collaboration in spreading falsehoods propagated by Hamas and its supporters, including the demonstrably manipulated and exaggerated casualty numbers in Gaza. Touro University law professor Thane Rosenbaum notes that the “disparities in body count are especially present in Fourth Generation Warfare, where enemy combatants wear no uniforms, hide behind civilians and shirk the laws of war.”
Plus, Israel is fighting with its hands tied behind its back: White House National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said in December that Israel is “basically telegraphing (its) punches.”
“There are very few modern militaries in the world that would do that,” Kirby said. “I don't know that we would do that.”
Free us from the myth that students at elite western universities are occupying campuses to uphold “Muslim human and political rights.” As Raheel Raza, a prominent Pakistani Canadian Muslim and a founding member of the Council of Muslims Against Antisemitism, wrote in December of the anti-israel demonstrations in the West, “one doesn't see the instant outpouring of emotions, the pain and anger, when Muslim populations across various conflict zones and under various dictatorial regimes suffer far more atrocities than the Palestinians.” Let us also remember that Hamas did not spare Muslims in its murderous rampage on Oct. 7, still holds Israeli Muslims captive, appropriates aid, relies heavily on child soldiers and has essentially taken the entire civilian population of Gaza as human shields.
Free us from the legitimization of the rape and murder of Jews on Oct. 7 and from those who pose the question, “What did you expect from the Gazans when they've been so oppressed for so long?” Writer and activist Shoshana Keats Jaskoll states unequivocally, “There is NOTHING anyone could do that would lead me to kill a child in cold blood, dismember a woman, slice her genitals, blow up parents in front of their children, laugh, sit & eat at their table.”
Free us from anti-israel advocates who have graffitied, trespassed, firebombed schools and businesses, scared children visiting Santa in malls, hijacked university campuses, harassed politicians in their homes and explicitly threatened violence against citizens and police. If the antisemitic language and activity currently present on Canadian streets were instead directed at the LGBTQ+ community, for example, it is hard to imagine that the Trudeau government would be reacting so minimally.
Free us from weak, unprincipled, impotent western governments that have failed to stand up for the one liberal democracy in the Middle East. Israel is a remarkable little country that has contributed disproportionately to the well-being of the world's inhabitants. It is on the front lines of a battle against terrorism and extremism that must be won for the sake of all peaceloving people on the planet. Let our people go!
OUR CRY FOR FREEDOM DOES NOT END WITH THE RELEASE OF THE HOSTAGES.