The Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah is meant to be a joyous occasion marking the completion of the reading of the scriptures. But in 1980 at Paris’ rue Copernic synagogue, the deadliest antisemitic attack in France since the Second World War turned a celebration to horror.
At around 6:30 pm, more than 300 worshipers were rocked violently by a terrible blast. The synagogue’s front gate blew off, its ceiling collapsed, and glass shards tore through the sanctuary. Eyewitnesses outside described a 20-metre flame erupt into the night sky followed by the sight of cars launched into the air.
Forty-six people were injured that night. All four of the murdered had the misfortunate to have been outside the synagogue at that moment: 22-year-old Phillipe Bouissou was killed instantly while driving past on his motorcycle; chauffer Jean-Michel Barbé was waiting for his client who had been praying inside; Hilario Lopez Fernandez, the concierge at the hotel across the street, succumbed to his wounds two days later.
The fourth victim was the Israeli cinematographer, Aliza Shagrir. She was the mother of my friend and colleague, Hagai, a teenager at the time who survived only because he had returned early to his hotel room. To this day, Hagai remains traumatized and laments having gone through life without his mother.
While it took many years for the authorities to find the culprit and even more time to prosecute the case, Hassan Diab was finally convicted by a French court in April 2023. This decision brought a measure of justice to the victims and the families affected.
Last week, however, those families, indeed Jewish communities worldwide, were shocked to read in the National Post that while Mr. Diab awaits the extradition to France to be processed, to serve his life sentence, he is employed by Carleton University to teach a course on, of all topics, social justice. Although this news would be difficult to accept at any time, it is especially unsettling in the wake of the horrors of October 7, 2023 — the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust that also took place on the festival of Simchat Torah.
Hamas’ genocidal assault not only resulted in the barbaric murder of more than 1,200 men, women and children — including eight Canadians — and the taking of 254 hostages, it also unleashed a wave of antisemitic attacks around the world and here in Canada. We have witnessed pogroms on the streets of Amsterdam unheard-of since the days of Nazi Europe, shots fired at Jewish schools in Toronto and Montreal, planned radical Islamist terror plots targeting Jews that have thankfully been foiled by Canadian and American security services, and sadly the list goes on.
Employing a convicted terrorist anywhere, especially at a university in Canada’s national capital, is emblematic of a broader trend that has become notable since October 7. While threats to other racial, cultural or religious demographics are quickly rejected and condemned, Canadian Jews of all ages are increasingly reporting that violence and intimidation directed towards them is overlooked or even rationalized by some as being justified.
This is most evident on campuses where Jewish and Israeli speakers are vilified and shouted down, where encampments are tolerated and even supported by some staff, and protesters chant, “Jews go back to Europe” or “from the river to the sea Palestine will be free,” which a Canadian Crown attorney has said could be inferred as a call for genocide of the Jewish people.
The decision to hire a convicted terrorist, to have him lecture and influence impressionable students, ostensibly on human rights, contributes to a toxic atmosphere that further marginalizes and victimizes Canadian Jewish students. In contradiction to the values of liberal democracies — like those of Israel and Canada — it sends the message that their safety and well-being doesn’t matter and that terrorism may be tolerated.
This is not just about justice for the Shagrirs and other families impacted by a bombing that took place 44 years ago, nor is it about similar acts of terror that occurred before or since. It is not even about academic freedom that allows a terrorist to claim innocence in the face of a verdict by the highest court in a democracy like France.
This is about our values and the kind of countries that we wish to leave to future generations. That’s why it is so important for our leaders — including elected officials and university presidents — to do the right thing and show moral clarity.
Iddo Moed is the ambassador of the State of Israel to Canada.
National Post