To quote the late, great New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra: It “was déjà vu all over again.”

The “it,” in this case, was yet another protest (and counterprotest) staged outside a synagogue on Clark Avenue in Thornhill, Ontario.

Last Sunday dozens of pro-Hamas demonstrators assembled near the Aish Hatorah synagogue.

This place of worship, located in a heavily Jewish neighbourhood located just north of Toronto, was hosting an event aimed at helping Canadians to purchase property in Israel.

And then, just four days later and about a kilometre away on Clark Avenue, hundreds of pro-Hamas demonstrators assembled again outside the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto synagogue for the same reason.

Yet again, the antisemitic rhetoric being espoused by the pro-Hamas types at the Thursday protest mirrored what had been spewed at the Sunday protest: “From the river to the sea”, “intifada,” “go back to Poland.” 

There were also several chants uttered in Arabic; we have no idea what was being said. We’re quite sure it wasn’t pleasant. Indeed, the rhetoric was equal parts vile and disgusting. On several occasions, fisticuffs broke out between the dueling protesters. Members of the York Regional Police (and later on, the Mounted Unit from the Toronto Police Service), had their hands full in keeping the peace.

And yet, we ponder, if the roles were reversed, what would be the political and police response? Which is to say, if Jews and their allies were to go to a Muslim area in the Greater Toronto Area and demonstrate outside a mosque and uttered chants calling for the genocide of Muslims, would this be tolerated? Would law enforcement look the other way; would politicians turn the other cheek? Of course not. Case in point: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau couldn’t get to Toronto fast enough in 2018 when it was reported that a Muslim girl had her hijab shredded by an Asian man brandishing a pair of scissors. Alas, it turned out to be a complete fabrication and would later go on to be known as the “hijab hoax.” Oops…

And yet, what is the unspoken reason for this ongoing double standard and the two-tier policing that has taken root in so many Canadian municipalities since the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel? Why are members of law enforcement and politicians of every level so nonchalant when Jewish restaurants and businesses and synagogues are targeted by pro-Hamas thugs who think nothing of vandalizing and firebombing such places? (There was one silver lining on this day, however: thankfully, no constables with the Toronto Police Service reimagined themselves as Uber Eats drivers, delivering coffee and Timbits to the pro-Hamas hooligans).

It should also be noted that Rebel News staffers were physically assaulted on this day simply for practicing journalism (pop quiz: can you possibly imagine which side was getting violent) ?

Reporter David Menzies was kicked in the groin for no reason; cameraman Lincoln Jay was accosted and had his iPhone stolen (it was later recovered).

Perhaps these demonstrators thought they were in Gaza as opposed to Ontario, and that Canada was under sharia law applied by vigilantes. That’s what it looked like on the north side of Clark Avenue. It was disgraceful.

But then again, these violent agitators provided added proof that, in the big picture, the Israel-Hamas war that continues to rage is really all about civilization versus savagery. For the record, we’re on Team Civilization.