Readers discuss anti-Israel protests, the Trudeau government EV policy that is 'handing the keys to China,' trouble at Harvard, and more
Re: Calls mount for cops to enforce law on disruptive anti-Israel protests after coffee-delivery video — Bryan Passifiume, Jan. 8; The more pro-Palestinian protesters get, the uglier their tactics become — Chris Selley, Jan. 8; Arson attack on Toronto deli condemned as antisemitism, assault on ‘Canadian values’ — Tyler Dawson, Jan. 4; and Let 2024 be the year Canada regains moral clarity — Sabrina Maddeaux, Jan. 6
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All three levels of government have failed miserably to come to the defence of the Jewish community in the face of truly abhorrent antisemitism. From outright intimidation and threats to the firebombing of institutions, the police have not done anything to address these acts. The protest on Toronto’s Avenue Road overpass should be cleared out using force if necessary and the organizers should be made to pony up for any and all costs associated with their illegal activities.
The kid gloves need to come off. Unfortunately, we can’t expect any help federally as the current government is the most destructive and divisive bunch that has ever occupied Parliament Hill. But I honestly expected more from the Ontario government.
Ted Mead, Winchester, Ont.
Staff Supt. Pauline Paul is quoted as saying: “Based on the totality of circumstances, we believe it (the arson at the Jewish deli in Toronto) was committed with bias or prejudice.”
Well, no kidding!
The police in Toronto — and other major cities in Canada — have been visibly absent in this whole disgraceful affair. In fact, it appears that the police have assisted them, especially in their actions blocking roads in a Jewish area of Toronto.
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If the police (and by reflection, the Canadian public) are serious about dealing with this appalling racial hatred, which is currently rampant in our cities and on campuses, they will stop using euphemisms Iike “totality of circumstances” etc. and call it what it is — antisemitism, or better yet, anti-Jewish racism.
Jonathan Isserlin, Ottawa
In what world order is the disruption of a community through intimidation by a rogue group of individuals promoting hatred and violence OK? The social contract between the people and those elected is breaking down in a way that simply baffles any reasoning available to me except the acquiescence to people with an extreme and hateful agenda who are being catered to and in many ways encouraged to act out in a manner completely at odds with the tenets of peaceful and lawful demonstrations.
There seems to be more concern about protecting people hidden by masks and terrorizing our communities than to putting a stop to this with finality that sends a strong message. Our tax dollars pay for policing to manage such events. Why then, is Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow so concerned as to not upset those rallying and inciting antisemitic sentiment? The only answer I can sadly come to and that is the fear of intimidation has led to placating the haters rather than protecting the rights of the hated.
This type of anarchy is going to promote chaos and give licence to an intensity of disruption like a forest fire with a hot wind, blowing towards the complete destruction of what is a thriving multi-ethnic and diverse community I can proudly call home. If we give in to these tactics where does it end?
Israel Ellis, Toronto
No one should be surprised that Toronto Police officers were delivering coffee to anti-Israel protesters. They were carrying on the tradition of service set by the RCMP who routinely carried the luggage of illegal border crossers at Roxham Road in Quebec. That is the legacy of Justin Trudeau’s supposed commitment to the rule of law in Canada.
Paul Clarry, Aurora, Ont.
Re: Justin Trudeau’s naive EV plan hands the keys to China — Kelly McParland, Dec. 28
Kelly McParland is right on the money. Justin Trudeau’s timeline for phasing out gas-powered vehicles is completely unrealistic; Canada’s carbon footprint is negligible in our world; and our prime minister is aiding and abetting China’s march towards world economic (and military?) dominance. And, of course, Trudeau ignores the very large carbon footprint of electric car production. When he is voted out, as he will be, saner heads will prevail.
The cost of electric vehicles is beyond the reach of most Canadians and will remain so in the immediate future. I will keep my combustion-engined cars until they are ready for the graveyard.
Hersh Glickman, Toronto
Kelly McParland sees the upcoming disaster in Canada’s service sector when he observes that we’re going to be dependent on Chinese electric cars. But he’s missing the real disaster that’s approaching at the same time: no cars or trucks — at all — to do our daily work.
The Trudeau government consists of sheltered dandies who, one suspects, have never done a day’s work in their lives. Canada is facing a total crippling of the local service industries that keep our homes and businesses functioning because of one key item: lack of small service vans.
Everybody who does maintenance work uses these small vans to carry tools and supplies to and from the shop. E-vans are hopeless for this task. They’re simply too expensive, scarce, and delicate to do the job.
The local dealers are aware of the crunch that’s coming. The local Ford dealer has orders from Telus and Canada Post, for example, and there’s no vans in the pipeline. They’ve all been discontinued. Production is being diverted to other countries. The GM dealer is in the same pickle. Germany suggests we need to shift to electric bicycles. Are these people serious?
I myself have a 24-year-old service van that needs replacing, and I can’t find a replacement. I suppose I could retire — but is the entire country going to retire? Has anybody (other than the car dealers and we who do the work) thought about how this is going to play out?
Reilly Burke, Richmond, B.C.
Re: Claudine Gay resignation was a good first step, but more needs to be done to fix Harvard — Bill Ackman, Jan. 5
How ironic that in practice DEI policy actually generates its opposite: instead of diversity, there is forced conformity, e.g. in stigmatizing any debate around critical race theory. Instead of equity, there is unfairness in denying employment opportunities to meritorious candidates because of their ethnicity or gender. Instead of Inclusion, there is the cancellation of anyone who dares to depart from the approved narrative.
As an alumnus of Harvard’s Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, I was privileged to get a first-rate education in a stimulating environment. I took a lecture course from Prof. W.H. Furry, who I learned had been indicted in the 1950s by the U.S. government’s House Un-American Activities Committee for refusing to name others involved with the Communist Party. Despite Prof. Furry’s one-time connection to an unpopular cause (Stalin’s atrocities had been revealed), Harvard’s president, Nathan Pusey, refused Sen. Joseph McCarthy’s demands for his firing, and Furry continued at Harvard until his normal retirement.
When basic democratic rights were being threatened at the highest levels, Harvard took a brave and ethical stand. Today, a Harvard president equivocates on whether advocacy of genocide will be tolerated under its DEI policy. We are in big trouble.
S. David Rosner, London, Ont.
Re: North Korea’s Kim says military should ‘thoroughly annihilate’ US, South Korea if provoked — Hyung-jin Kim, Jan. 2; and Neglecting Ukraine means losing the new Cold War — Adam Zivo, Jan. 3
Let us hope that North Korea’s Kim Jong un does not start a world conflict. UN sanctions imposed in 2006 haven’t stopped him from developing intercontinental ballistic missiles, launching satellites, building drones and boosting his nuclear arsenal. He’s reminiscent of Adolf Hitler, who built a powerful military right under the noses of world’s leaders. Kim’s a sleeping giant who should be feared, saying war is inevitable. And Canadians should feel no comfort in their nation’s lacklustre approach to national security.
Peter J. Middlemore Sr., Windsor, Ont.
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