The story as I understand it from what I read in the media goes as follows. A Palestinian teacher at Sir Robert Borden High School in Ottawa suggests a song to be sung at the school’s Remembrance Day ceremony. The song is entitled Haza Salam (This is Peace) and is a rather innocuous little song that plaintively asks why not peace? (You can find it on YouTube.) It is completely generic, mentioning no particular place or conflict.
The school principal, Aaron Hobbs, appreciated the gesture, saying the intention “was to foster a message of peace and remembrance, reflecting on the importance of unity and reconciliation.” The song was duly included on the program.
Then all hell broke loose. Jewish groups complained, veteran groups complained, and politicians expressed outrage. Poor shell-shocked principal Hobbs humbly apologized.
One veteran called it “one of the most profoundly shocking incidents” he’s ever heard involving a Remembrance Day ceremony.
Nepean MPP Lisa MacLeod expressed anger, disappointment and confusion, claiming the service “did not follow the Royal Canadian Legion protocol and distressed all of the Jewish students” and called for disciplinary measures.
Federal Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre staged a general rant, declaiming against “woke activists and authorities” using “Remembrance Day to push their divisive and radical causes.” How he loves that word “woke.”
All this over a song appealing for peace at a Remembrance Day ceremony. What could be more appropriate?
So, I wondered, why the outrage. And then it hit me. The song is in the teacher’s native language, Arabic. Was it possible we were witnessing a little anti-Semitism toward that other Semitic tribe? With perhaps a little Islamophobia thrown in?
Some in the Muslim community seemed to think so. The Muslim Advisory Council of Canada condemned criticism of the song’s use, saying “Comments like these create an unsafe environment, making it harder for Muslims to freely practice their faith and celebrate their identity.”
Jason Toney, Director of Media Advocacy for the human rights group Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East pointed out that last year Canadian media and many Canadians celebrated the incorporation of Ukrainian culture into Remembrance Day ceremonies. In fact, Winnipeg’s Ralph Brown School’s ceremony featured music, visuals and speeches incorporating elements of Ukrainian culture. Not a peep from the media and not a single politician ranted about “woke activists.”
The politicians and others that savaged principal Hobbs owe him, his school and the teacher who suggested Haza Salam an apology.
I always thought Remembrance Day was about the Canadian military. The service is about what our veterans have done, and about the sacrifices made for our country. There is no need for songs from other parts of the world. Highly inappropriate.
Mistakes were made. Either no songs or many different songs would have been appropriate.
But given that it was a WORLD war ‘other parts of the world’ were obviously affected. People of all walks of life fought in the endless array of wars that we keep foisting on the public.
Maybe we’re doing a bad job of remembering the sacrifices made every time a defence contractor whines for 2% of GDP when defence is already one of the biggest spending categories.
Which gets to the most important question: what’s wrong with asking for peace?