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Mark Carney falls right into a Hamas trap: Full Comment podcast

Mark Carney falls right into a Hamas trap: Full Comment podcast

National Post7 hours ago
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For two years, Hamas has used the suffering of Palestinians to manipulate global opinion. As Brian Lilley discusses with this week's guests, it worked: the Hamas-caused hunger crisis in Gaza has prompted Canada, with France and the United Kingdom, to recognize a Palestinian state based on unenforceable conditions like democratic elections and Hamas relinquishing power — which it says it will never do. Iddo Moed, Israel's ambassador, says the declarations have already destroyed ceasefire talks. Eylon Levy, former spokesman for the Israeli government, says such naive western 'student politics' invite everlasting war. And Conservative MP Shuvaloy Majumdar, who has worked with fledgling Mideast democracies, explains how Prime Minister Mark Carney has, ironically, subverted Canada's democracy, and interests, with his reckless decision. (Recorded Aug. 1, 2025.)
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Fierté Montreal reinvites Jewish organizations
Fierté Montreal reinvites Jewish organizations

CTV News

time28 minutes ago

  • CTV News

Fierté Montreal reinvites Jewish organizations

Thousands turned out to walk in the Montreal Pride parade, Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021. (Peter McCabe/The Canadian Press) Organizers for the upcoming Montreal Pride parade have reversed their decision to exclude a Jewish LBGTQ+ group from participating in the event. In a new statement released Tuesday, Fierté Montréal said it was reaffirming an invitation for 'all communities' to participate in the events planned for the 11-day festival. The organizers released the statement after the Jewish community group, Ga'ava, began calling on government officials to intervene after it was banned from joining the parade. 'Although this was not Fierté Montréal's intention, the announcement was perceived by the Jewish community in Québec (and especially by Jewish members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community) as a way to exclude them from its events,' Fierté Montréal, which manages the festival, wrote in the statement. 'This does not reflect the inclusive values that guide Fierté Montréal's actions.' Fierté Montréal, an organization that promotes the rights of the LGBTQ+ community, had previously informed Ga'ava it would be excluded from the Pride parade last week, said Carlos A. Godoy, president of the Montreal-based group. He said Fierté Montréal emailed a letter explaining Ga'ava was being banned for engaging in hate speech. He believes the decision wasn't justified. The letter cited an interview Godoy gave that was featured in an article last month in The Canadian Jewish News, he said. Godoy was quoted in the article alleging that pro-Palestinian groups who disrupted last year's parade, causing an hour-long delay, were 'pro-terror.' 'The words that we are accused of using are not hate speech under Canadian law or under Quebec law,' Godoy said. He said he's critical of pro-Palestinian activists who participate in Pride events because he believes they are promoting violence against Jewish people. Fierté Montréal and Ga'ava both declined to share a copy of the letter and The Canadian Press has not reviewed it. Fierté Montréal also declined to answer questions about the nature of the complaints. It has since said in its statement it needs to improve how it deals with complaints to ensure 'a situation like this one does not happen again.' Samya Lemrini, part of the board of Helem Montréal, which represents the Arabic-speaking LGBTQ+ community, said she disagrees with Godoy's characterization of pro-Palestinian activists, noting this isn't the first time he referred to them as 'pro-terror.' She said he made similar comments during a conference call with multiple Pride parade participants last spring. Screenshots shared with The Canadian Press show that he posted comments in a group chat during that call, using the words 'Hamas' and 'pro-terror' to describe the pro-Palestinian demonstrators. 'After what happened last year, I did not think that it was possible that they'd let (Ga'ava) march again,' Lemrini said. Helem Montréal wasn't part of the protest at last year's event, Lemrini added, saying they ultimately decided to join the parade, walking hand-in-hand with Jewish attendees in a show of solidarity. Her group will not be taking part in the parade this year, however. Instead, it will take part in an alternate parade, 'Wild Pride,' set to run the same day. Zev Saltiel, an organizer with the Montreal chapter of Independent Jewish Voices, defended the Fierté Montréal organizers, saying he believed Ga'ava was banned due to Godoy's behaviour. 'The truth is that they're not being antisemitic,' Saltiel said about Fierté. Eta Yudin, vice-president of the Quebec chapter of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, welcomed the new decision on Tuesday. 'The exclusion of the Jewish community was completely not unaligned with either Fierté Montréal's values or our Quebec values. We're pleased to see we will all be moving forward to put our energy and our focus where the fight is important, and that is against hate and division,' said Yudin. The federal and provincial governments, along with Montreal, are all among the sponsors for the 11-day festival which began on July 31. The Quebec government, for instance, contributed nearly $1 million toward the festival this season. The Canadian government, meanwhile, provided just over $419,000. Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, said he's glad meaningful dialogue led to a solution. 'It's important to ensure the safe and full participation of all members of the 2SLGBTQI+ community and their allies in Pride,' he shared through a written statement. 'Pride events must always be spaces of inclusion where who we are and who we love are celebrated, regardless of faith, background, or identity.' Asked to comment on the situation, a spokesperson for the City of Montreal said it 'was not involved in the decision taken by Fierté Montréal.' Montreal's 19th annual Pride parade will be held on Sunday, August 10. This report by The Canadian Press was first published August 5, 2025. Miriam Lafontaine, The Canadian Press

Montreal Pride reinstates Jewish groups recently barred from parade
Montreal Pride reinstates Jewish groups recently barred from parade

CBC

time29 minutes ago

  • CBC

Montreal Pride reinstates Jewish groups recently barred from parade

Two Jewish 2SLGBTQ+ groups recently barred from marching in Montreal's Pride parade have been reinstated. Fierté Montréal, the organization that manages Montreal's Pride festival, said in a statement posted to its website on Tuesday that it was reaffirming its invitation to all communities to take part in the celebrations. "Fierté Montréal wishes for every community, regardless of religious affiliation, to feel welcome at its events and to be able to participate in a safe and inclusive environment," the statement said. "In this spirit, the organization extends its apologies to the Jewish communities and especially to Jewish members of the 2SLGBTQIA+ community." The reinstatement comes one day after the chair of Fierté Montréal's board of directors resigned — citing personal reasons — and less than a week after the organization issued a statement both condemning "the ongoing genocide in Gaza" and saying it had denied participation in the parade to "organizations spreading hateful discourse." The statement had targeted both the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and Gaa'va, which calls itself "Canada's oldest and largest Jewish LGBTQ+ group." Last week, a CIJA representative said the groups had been kicked out of Pride for statements published in a Jewish community news outlet. The comments described protesters who interrupted last year's parade as "pro-Hamas" and people seeking to bar Zionists from the parade as "pro-terror." 'We don't want to condemn the whole community' In an interview with CBC, Marlot Marleau, the new head of the board of directors for Fierté Montréal, said the organization had acted to ban Gaa'va and CIJA after receiving complaints about hateful discourse. But he said they went back on their decision because they didn't want to make the Jewish community feel rejected. "The statements were deemed unacceptable, [but] we don't want to condemn the whole community because of unacceptable statements from a singular individual," Marleau said in an interview with CBC. Fierté Montréal had been facing a barrage of criticism for failing to take a stance on the situation in Gaza and at least one performer had said she would not perform at the festival due to the inclusion of a "Zionist LGBTQ+ group." But Fierté Montréal's move to bar Gaa'va and CIJA from the parade also drew condemnation. Five MPs penned an open letter to Fierté Montréal calling on the organization to reverse its decision. "This is entirely unacceptable and a devastating message to Montreal's Jewish community and, in particular, to Montreal Jews who belong to the 2LBGTQ+ community," said the letter, which was shared on X by Mount Royal MP Anthony Housefather. Group calls initial ban 'a PR stunt' In a statement, CIJA said Tuesday that it had discussions with the "new chair of the board of Fierté Montréal," Marlot Marleau, who is taking over from the previous chair, Bernard Truong, who resigned on Monday. Following those discussions, CIJA said it welcomed the decision to reinstate both CIJA and Gaa'va in the parade. "The organization issued an apology to Jewish 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals in Quebec and the broader Jewish community for a decision that was felt as a message of rejection. Following constructive dialogue, we accepted their apology," the CIJA statement said. Yara Coussa, a board member with Helem Montréal, a group that advocates for Arabic-speaking LGBTQ+ people in Montreal, said Fierté Montréal's reinstatement of Gaa'va and CIJA showed that the organization's position was never genuine. "Their response just shows that their actions were never about caring for the community, but it was just a PR stunt to try to save face," she said. Helem Montréal is part of a coalition of 2SLGBTQ+ groups that cut ties with Fierté Montréal this year, saying the organization no longer represents them. Gaa'va and CIJA weren't the only groups barred from the Pride parade last week. The Iranian Montreal Rainbow Alliance (IMRA) was also excluded. Marleau did not say why, but said the organization was open to a dialogue with that group as well.

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