The moderate left fell into bed with the far left and now we’re all paying the price for their ignorance and stupidity
The far left has been emboldened during the Israel-Hamas war. They’ve played a significant role in helping organize, participate or both in the anti-Israel rallies and protests in Canada and around the world. They’ve played a significant role in raising the amount of fear, anger, tension, revulsion and hatred in our society. They’ve also played a significant role in increasing antisemitism against the Jewish community to levels that haven’t been witnessed in this country since the end of the Second World War.
Yes, the far right has also been visible since the Hamas attack against Israel on Oct. 7. Their ugly presence has been much smaller and less significant as compared to the uglier presence of the far left. It’s not a comparison worth making.
Who composes the far left?
It’s a mix of left-wing radicals and extremists from the veritable alphabet soup of life. Some are passive and nonviolent, while others aren’t opposed to physical violence and the destruction of public and private property. Their ranks include Marxists, hardline Socialists, anarchists, anti-Zionists, anti-globalists, radical environmentalists and anti-Israel demonstrators, among many others.
While most signs and placards at anti-Israel rallies and protests in Canada were related to the Palestinian flag and its colours, far-left activists also had signs and banners. Socialist Action, Labour for Palestine Canada, Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network and Jews 4 a Free Palestine could be seen in the large crowds. They weren’t as visible as Palestinian supporters, but were far from invisible.
What’s barely been explored is why the far left feels more comfortable causing division and dissension in our society. The blame largely rests on the shoulders of the moderate left, including Liberals, New Democrats and Greens. While they haven’t directly contributed to the current mayhem, they turned a blind eye to the mayhem that preceded it.
The moderate left’s biggest mistake was tolerating the growth and expansion of radical beliefs and social movements like the Occupy Movement, Black Lives Matter, Native rights, LGBTQ rights, MeToo movement and climate change activism. They found common cause with some or all of these radical positions. They regularly plucked out what they felt was positive and important for their vision of modern society, including racial and gender equality, tolerance, compassion and a societal awareness of historical grievances and injustices.
The basic ideas benefit our society. I support them, as do most normal-thinking people. The issue always has been who was involved in promoting them – and what their actual motives were. Cherry-picking a few good points while ignoring craters of bad elements was a poor strategic decision.
Social justice quickly transformed into the biggest guiding light for the progressive movement. Political correctness and “woke culture” were forced into our modern vernacular. There was a compulsive need to modernize and sanitize history. We had to apologize to every individual or group hurt by the actions of our ancestors – even if our ancestors had nothing to do with them. If you weren’t on board, you were shunned, ridiculed, cancelled – or worse.
Who do you think was largely behind these modern social movements? The far left.
Occupy Wall Street’s origins can be found in Kalle Lasn’s anti-consumerist publication Adbusters, and the Occupy Movement spread to left-wing radicals at university campuses and elsewhere. The removal and destruction of monuments and memorials started within the most radical elements of the George Floyd protests. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission began as a means of increasing awareness of the Canadian Indian Residential School system and exploded into areas such as cultural genocide and institutional racism. The Black Lives Matter Network was started in 2013 by three black radicals with roots in gender issues, prison abolition, gay rights and critical race theory.
The progressive movement tolerated the unlawful and unruly behaviour of those involved in expanding these radical beliefs and social movements. When Occupy Movement protests and the destruction of statues of important historical figures regularly went off the rails, they usually disregarded these criminal acts. When droves of people took a knee publicly during anti-racism protests, including weak, ineffective Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, they didn’t consider what the long-term impacts could potentially be. When individuals and groups demanded that everything from supposed white privilege to the acceptance of gender pronouns become part of public discourse, few batted an eye.
One of the groups largely at fault for this? Jewish leftists. Some unwittingly believed these far-left radicals were fellow political travellers and social justice allies. Others felt that working together would create an alliance to bring a collective end to antisemitism, racism and injustice. Many have started to realize that’s not the case – and never was.
The far left doesn’t view Jews and Israel as historical underdogs in society. That status is now reserved for Palestinians and Hamas. As for the Israeli government and Jews who support it, they’re part of an elitist system that keeps their chosen underdogs captive in a situation they see as being akin to “apartheid,” a “Nazi state,” and illegal “occupation.”
Many of us on the political right warned the moderate left not to get into bed with the far left. Don’t play their games, and don’t fall for their lies and obvious motives. They didn’t listen, and now we’re all paying the price for their ignorance and stupidity.
Michael Taube, a Troy Media syndicated columnist and Washington Times contributor, was a speechwriter for former Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He holds a master’s degree in comparative politics from the London School of Economics.
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