"I am appalled and disgusted as a Canadian."These are the words of retired Canadian Armed Forces General Rick Hillier regarding the problem of Jew hatred in Canada and the display of terrorist flags during pro-Palestine demonstrations.Hillier, former chief of Canada's Defence Staff, spoke with the Western Standard on Monday at an Allies for a Strong Canada event in Calgary. "I'm here because I believe in being on the side of right, and I believe that what's happening in Canada right now is the silent majority of Canadians are not standing up for what is right." According to the Macdonald—Laurier Institute, antisemitic incidents have risen 670% since the Hamas invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023 and Israel's subsequent war against Hamas that has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians."One year later in Canada we find ourselves in a renewed yet ancient battle against antisemitism and extremism," wrote the Institute. "If this battle is lost, it threatens to unravel our most precious values and erode the law order and foundations of our society."Hillier said the Hamas attack in southern Israel was vicious — and now the Jewish state is being persecuted for defending itself against an enemy that has dug into civilian homes and infrastructure in Gaza.Antisemitism is just a polite term for Jew hatred, Hillier added."And our political leaders have not put a stop to it," he said. "And when you don't put a stop to it effectively, you have encouraged it." "And I spoke out about it long ago. I tried to encourage others to speak out about it. I tried to encourage people to pressure their members of parliament, the federal government, our prime minister, the Liberal government, our provincial governments and mayors, and say this is unacceptable."Does Hillier think it's too late to stop the wave of Jew hatred in Canada? "Not at all. I think we (need to) enforce our laws and have leaders show up and show support for 400,000 Canadian Jews, none of whom, by the way, to my knowledge, have tossed a single bomb or a grenade or a rocket against any Arab in Gaza or in Lebanon or elsewhere."If Canadians don't put an end to Jew hatred, Hillier fears the movement will grown from "irritating" protests and disruptions to something much more serious."I think a tragedy will eventually come from that, and we don't want that," he said.When it comes to terrorist flags being displayed during Canadian pro-Palestine demonstrations, Hillier said he is "appalled and disgusted.""I don't believe that's what our country is. But again, if the silent majority in our country, who I do believe, are on the same side that I am, are silent, then this is going to keep occurring," he said."I'm disgusted when I see terrorist flags. I'm disgusted when I see that red triangle, which means you're targeting somebody. I'm disgusted when I see people dressed as suicide bombers in our nation. And I'm also disgusted when those protests make deliberate forays into the neighbourhoods where Jewish Canadians live."New (political) leadership is needed to fight Jew hatred, said Hillier."I think they are frightened to death that they're going to have a tragedy, because that is then going to be their legacy, that they did not act."
