Fourteen years ago, Sept 11, 2001, the last of the Jews in Syria was flown to freedom. More than 3000 Jewish people trapped under the brutal dictator, Assad, were removed from Syria by the actions of one Canadian woman from Toronto, Judy Feld Carr. The entire operation which took decades was kept quiet because the Jews had to be taken out surreptitiously and many had to be "purchased" from the Syrian government. As Mrs. Carr
noted: "We were buying Jews, one by one, from a hostile government. It was the best-kept secret in the Jewish world."
Last week we saw a photo that tore at our collective hearts. A little boy, face down on the beach: one of millions of people trying to find a safe haven from the butchery in Syria. Millions of Syrians are on the move. And we are all filled with righteous anger. But where were all of you three years ago when we knew what was going on in Syria? That Assad was gassing his own people. And the President of the United States, Barack Obama,
declared that if Assad continued to gas his people there would be military intervention. Assad crossed the line. And then nothing happened. The leader of the free world retreated and the onslaught against these helpless people raged.
Where were you?
In May 2015 there were reports the Assad regime had, once again, used sarin gas and other chemicals against their citizens.
Where were you?
Back in 2013, the Prime Minister of Canada, Stephen Harper had stood up when there was talk again of more chemical weapon attacks on Syria: "I fear that if no one does challenge it, they will use chemical weapons on a scale way beyond anything we have seen to date to win that war," the prime minister
said. "If that happens, that is a precedent that humanity will regret for generations to come." He addressed the need, then, for military intervention to stop the barbarianism. But nothing changed.
Where were you?
Today, with all that we know, we still have
Mulcair and
Trudeau against military operations. But we can help, they say. We can bring in refugees. These are people who would prefer to live in their own country. But we refused to help. And now these two "leaders" cry out with crocodile tears. They morally failed the Syrians and the Canadians.
We stood by while these terrorists, these sub-humans, not only raped pillaged and murdered human beings, but made an attempt to wipe out history from the planet by destroying incredible monuments. It started in 2001 with
CNN's reality show: "Watch the Taliban Destroy the Buddhas."
More recently, we saw the destruction of the
Temple of Bel, one of the most venerated temples in the ancient city of Palmyra, known as The Pearl of the Desert, a UNESCO World heritage Site. ISIL "carried out executions in the ancient theatre [of Palmyra], they destroyed in July the famous Lion Statue of Athena... and transformed the
museum into a prison and a courtroom."
Where were you?
According to
UNESCO "Syria's inestimable archaeological sites, historic towns and monuments have been devastated since the start of the conflict in March 2011."
Where were you?
In May 2104, the historical synagogue of Eliyahu Hanabi in Damascus, one of the oldest synagogues in Syria was
destroyed
And on Feb. 28, 2015, in the wake of Mosul's ransacking, the U.N. Security Council
adopted a resolution condemning the destruction of cultural heritage in Iraq and Syria by ISIS after "ISIS militants had ransacked the city's museums, libraries, and universities to burn thousands of books. UNSECO said the books had been 'deliberately burned' in what may be 'one of the most devastating acts of destruction of library collections in human history... the book burnings amounted to 'an attack on the culture, knowledge and memory' and was evidence of 'a fanatical project, targeting both human lives and intellectual creation.' By that point
U.N. estimates were that more than 190, 000 people had been murdered.
Not enough for you to cry out?
Hatra, formerly the "best preserved and most informative example of a Parthian city," was listed on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites. The ruins of the ancient city, which once withstood attacks from the Romans, were
destroyed by ISIS militants on March 7, 2015, according to local officials and the United Nations.
Where were you?
The Iraqi government said ISIS militants
"bulldozed" Nimrud in early March 2015, in a move UNESCO described as a "war crime."
Where were you?
The Crac des Chevaliers, the best preserved example of the castles of the Crusader period, originally constructed by the Hospitaller Order of Saint John of Jerusalem from 1142 to 1271, near what is now the Syrian city of Homs, has been
destroyed while being used for military purposes during the Syrian civil war.
Where were you?
And now the world over, people are calling for the rescue of refugees, while accepting a deal that will give Iran 150 billion dollars to fund...terror. Where? In Syria and Lebanon, and Iraq; and of course Israel, and at some point Europe and America. And where have you been?
Where do Mulcair and Trudeau stand on this? On the side of the Iran Deal. And our Prime Minister is the only one to say "no."
Where will you be in a year or two down the road?
Crying with righteous anger...again.
