Pro-Israel rally held in Ottawa — by Christians and Jews

Deborah Gyapong was there:

It was organized by 4MyCanada, the good folk at the Life Centre, a charismatic evangelical church and some folks from B’nai Brith Canada.

Two MPs came and spoke, both Conservative: Jeff Watson, who came in from the Essex riding near Windsor, and Royal Galipeau, who represents Orleans.

Evangelist Bill Prankard was also there.

The rally was heartwarming and moving. The Christian speakers prayed for Israel, prayed for the soldiers fighting Hamas, prayed for the Palestinian people who are captive to the terrorist group. They upheld Irsael’s right to defend herself. (…)

On the way home, I was thinking how many secular Jews and liberal Christians disdain the evangelicals (the “religious right”) who have an unwavering support for Israel. They are distrustful of the motives and think it’s only because these Christians are focused on End Times and looking forward to the Apocalypse.

I think today’s rally would have dispelled those prejudices. It was nice, too, that a range of Christians were represented—I saw some Catholics there as well as evangelicals.

It also made me sad that the big Jewish organizations have not stood with us when human rights commissions have persecuted people in the Christian faith community…

The human rights commissions are persecuting the very people who would provide a bulwark of support for the Jewish people in Canada. It’s time groups like the Canadian Jewish Congress, B’nai Brith and the Simon Weisenthal Centre wake up to this.

Where are the people who accused people like Kathy Shaidle, Kate McMillan, Ezra Levant and Mark Steyn of being Nazis because of their unwavering support for free speech, but who say nothing when there is actual incitement and death threats (such as the throat slit gesture a man made at a previous anti-Israel rally)?

I mean, there is stuff going on that I think crosses the line, that makes poor Alberta Pastor Stephen Boissoin’s letter look like a love letter in comparison. He never called for ovens, or said the Nazi’s didn’t do a good enough job. I’m American born, and love the more robust free speech tradition there. But if police are telling a small group of counter-demonstrators they must go home because it is getting too dangerous, I better see some arrests made, or we have already said goodbye to civilized debate in this country.