Last month, an Montreal teen posted on Instagram video of him ripping down flags outside a Jewish School, and then burning them. He was caught, pled guilty to arson causing property damage, and was was given one-year probation with several conditions, one of which bars him from referring on social media to the charges he faced.
On Tuesday, a new item was posted on the Instagram account that had published a video of the April 26 flag incident.
The post reads: “Finally released on probation. They thought they had silenced me, but I’m back and stronger than ever. Thanks to those who supported me and above all don’t forget Palestine. My voice alone is worthless but together we move the city and we disturb them. Our victory soon. Inshallah. #freepalestine”
The Instagram account features two posts. The other one is a video of a young man ripping down flags outside the Hebrew Foundation School, then burning them. The still-viewable video has garnered more than 1,100 comments.
Theft and destruction of property alert – a man films himself earlier today stealing and then setting on fire Israeli flags hung outside a Jewish Day School in Dollard Des Ormeaux, Montreal @SPVM
Patricia Johnson, a spokesperson for the Crown prosecutor’s office, told the Montreal Gazette the boy was in Youth Court on Thursday for breaking a probation condition and is scheduled for a follow-up court date on June 7.
Among the new conditions imposed is that he not “directly or indirectly” use social media, Johnson said.
Hebrew Foundation School had put up the flags to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Israeli independence. That day, several thousand Montrealers took part in Israel Day events.
The flag incident sparked fear in the Jewish community, with Montreal police, local public security and volunteers increasing patrols around Jewish institutions across the city.
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Under the initial conditions imposed on the boy, he must complete 17 hours of community service.
He was also forbidden from making references on social media to Israel or the Dollard-des-Ormeaux school that was targeted.
He must also not go within 200 metres of the school, must write a letter of apology to the school and must donate $250 to Just Peace Advocates, a human rights organization.
Jewish groups had denounced the sentence as inadequate, saying the court did not sufficiently consider “the hateful motivation behind his actions nor the magnitude of the incident’s impact on the community.”
Besides the obvious point about this incident showing yet again how those who claim to be “pro Palestine” are invariably actual Jew-haters who go after Jews, I would add that the sentence is beyond “inadequate.” It is preposterous and even offensive.
You see, the organization to which he has been ordered to donate the $250 – Just Peace Advocates – is not much better than him. I would argue they are even worse.
On their board of directors sits one Karen Rodman, whose antisemitism I outed on this blog a few years ago. And they amplify infamous Jew-haters on their Twitter account:
as well as Hamas and PFLP-affiliated media outlets and organizations:
not to mention actually showing their support for terrorists:
In other words, this “punishment” is akin to forcing a Neo Nazi donate to David Duke.
A law school graduate, David Lange transitioned from work in the oil and hi-tech industries into fulltime Israel advocacy. He is a respected commentator and Middle East analyst who has often been cited by the mainstream media