Whatever I think of Israel, I am not a fan of Hezbollah. They are homicide bombers, trying to eradicate Israel - which smacks of genocide.

Maybe this post should be titled something like: Protest in Toronto against Israeli Action in Lebanon. The would be much more…um…I’m not sure…neutral(?) of me. But the large photos of Hezbollah’s leader, Sheik Hassan Nasrallah, and the distinctive Hezbollah flag being flown near the front of the parade (with its distinctive AK-47) are enough for me, personally, to associate most of the (if not the whole) incident with Hezbollah supporters in Toronto. And, oh yeah, the chants of, and I quote, “Long live Hezbollah!” were another give away.

I was studying at the college today, when I heard the cries of a parade. I rushed to the wondow to take a peak, and saw a protest against Israeli action in Lebanon. The yellow Hezbollah flag caught my eye. I only had my phone with me, so the images aren’t great. But here is what I got:

Note the photo of Nasrallah, just next to the yellow Hezbollah flag. Many many Lebanon flags, as well as Canadian.

Here is the Hezbollah flag among all the Lebanese and Canadian flags. Note the image of the AK-47 at the top of the flag. This was accompanied with shouts of, among other things: Long live Hezbollah.

Is that red flag there a Che Guevara flag? That’s strange. Another image of Nasrallah in the centre. And the white sign to the right of the photo says: “Thirsty for Blood? Join the Israeli Army and Kill Kids.” If I remember properly, the side of it blocked in this picture had an image of a wounded child.

Canada’s PM - Stephen Harper - came out and said that Israel’s response has been “measured.” These people disagree. Chanting at this point, I believe, “Occupation is a Crime.” Or to that effect. CNN reported this morning that something like 83% of Israelis agree with their government’s actions, but don’t believe the response to Hezbollah’s kidnapping of two of their soldiers, and rocketing of Northern Israel, has been strong enough.

A Jewish man making the statement that the actions of Israel are not consistent with Jewish belief.

Now, I’m not saying that all these people are Hezbollah supporters…though the majority of the crowd was chanting, “Long Live Hezbollah!” over and over again…which is quite a thing to associate one’s self with, in my opinion. And, whatever I think about these people’s opinions (I generally would probably disagree), I applaud their unfettered and bold exercise of freedom of speech.

That was a truly interesting thing for me to see. I am glad that I did.

Casey

technorati tags: hezbollah toronto lebanon israel israel protest Hezbollah Supporters

Posted by casey on Saturday, July 29th, 2006 at 3:20 pm.