On the first anniversary of the October 7, 2023, attacks in southern Israel, we are overwhelmed by sense of sorrow for those innocent people killed and for their grieving families. The City of Côte Saint-Luc stands in solidarity with all those affected and to all those whose hearts will break again as they remember the horror of October 7.
The scale of the brutality of the perpetrators of the October 7 attacks is hard to comprehend. No pogrom in history was so well documented. The perpetrators recorded their crimes on body cameras. They also posted videos of their murder victims to the social media accounts of those victims using the smartphones of those victims.
October 7 also showed us what individuals can do to protect others in times of danger including Alexandre Look, who tried to protect others when a terrorist tried to attack the bomb shelter where they were taking refuge; Youssef Ziadna, the Bedouin mini-bus driver, who is credited with saving 30 people from the attack on the music festival; Ariel Bilya, who fought off invading Hamas terrorists with a metal rod so that members of his immediate and extended family, including a newborn baby, could escape from a home in Ofakim; Rami Davidian, who rushed to area near the music festival to drive many people to safety; Tali Hadad, the kindergarten teacher who found her injured police officer son and brought him to safety; Noam Tibon, 62, a retired major general who drove nearly 90km to save his children and grandchildren, and helped the army defend Kibbutz Nahal Oz from terrorist attackers; and Gali Tibon, his wife, who joined him on the dangerous mission and tended to the many injured people and brought them to the hospital.
On October 8, 2023 in Montreal, a group of people celebrated in the downtown streets and handed out candy. They first justified the atrocities committed by the jihadists, then downplayed them, and today many deny them. The reaction in Montreal to October 7 and the ensuing violence against Jewish community establishments should be a wake-up call to the authorities. Municipal, provincial and federal leaders must show the moral courage to fight the glorification of hatred and extremism, ensure that our laws are respected and pass new laws if necessary to combat the new threats to our country aimed at terrorizing the Jewish community.
The City of Côte Saint-Luc stands now and forever on the side of the heroes who put themselves at risk to save others, and on the side of those who speak out against violent extremism around the world and especially here at home.