SNOBELEN: Canada must do better to combat anti-Semitism

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We passed the anniversary of a massacre this week. A year ago, a mob of deranged and heavily armed youths crossed the Gaza border with a mission to kill Jews.

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They raped and murdered at will, posting videos of their carnage on social media. They returned to Gaza as heroes, having murdered 1,200 Jews. They took 251 hostages with them, including women, children and the elderly.

It was, for those who hate the Jews, a glorious day.

A year later, I wonder if the leaders who ushered in that day of pure hate would be surprised by the outcome.

Did Yahya Sinwar, the mastermind of the bloody invasion, predict the death of then-Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh? Did he know he would rise to the leadership of the terrorist organization?

A year ago, Hamas's leadership, most of whom lived in comfortable exile far from Gaza, understood that Hamas needed to at least appear interested in the difficult task of governing. They reportedly considered Sinwar a violent megalomaniac.

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Now the megalomaniac is in charge. He stands on the remains of Gaza, with his feet resting on the bodies of around 41,000 victims, a direct result of his massacre.

None of this comes as a shock to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. He is no stranger to terrorists.

Almost half a century ago, Netanyahu's older brother, Yonatan Netanyahu, was killed in an attempt to free hostages held by terrorists at Entebbe airport in Uganda. Benjamin understands the cost of fighting terrorism.

Netanyahu has moved in and out of the complex world of Israeli politics for nearly three decades, including 16 years as prime minister. Whatever his shortcomings, he is clear about the motives of Israel's many enemies.

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This perception was evident 20 years ago, when Netanyahu resigned as finance minister over the ill-fated Gaza disengagement strategy.

Almost three decades ago, a friend was hired as a campaign advisor for the Likud party. In this role, he spent many hours talking to Netanyahu. Always curious about politicians' motivations, I asked him what motivated Netanyahu.

He told me that Netanyahu was right that Israel's enemies wanted nothing less than the country's destruction.

According to my friend, Netanyahu believed that although Israel's enemies might ultimately prevail, it was his duty to protect his country as long as he could, regardless of the personal cost.

It is no surprise that Israel responded to the October 7th massacre by demolishing Hamas' ability to inflict terror and has recently taken the conflict to Iran, the sponsor of those bent on Israel's destruction.

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Strangely, Netanyahu and Sinwar agree on one thing – a two-state solution is currently impossible. Sinwar believes that the lands occupied by Israel belong to Muslims. He will not give up killing Jews until the entire land is captured.

And that is the current state of the conflict. It has remained fundamentally unchanged since the inception of modern Israel in 1947.

This is the ancient conflict that united the ignorant and anti-Semites in Canada to blab about colonialism, burn the Canadian flag and scream death to Canada.

The October 7th massacre was revealing. He denounced anti-Semitism in our institutions and highlighted the hollow nature of our government's agenda to seek an end to hostilities without a resolution of the issue. Maybe next year we will do better.

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