Dimitri Lascaris is a lawyer, journalist, pro-Palestinian activist, board member of The Real News Network and counsel to the al-Quds Toronto Committee that organizes the annual Al-Quds Day Rally in Toronto.
On December 5, 2019 Dimitri Lascaris posted on Facebook:
B’nai Brith Canada has launched yet another shameless attack on an MP who did the right thing by defending the humanity of Palestinians and denouncing Israel’s egregious violations of their human rights. This time, the target of B’nai Brith’s smears is Elizabeth May.
Elizabeth May has an unambiguous record of opposing violence and promoting the peaceful resolution of conflict.
Moreover, B’nai Brith ignores the fact that, under international law, an occupied people is entitled to use force, within certain limits, to resist the occupier.
Apparently, B’nai Brith believes that Israel (the Middle East’s only nuclear-armed state) is entitled to be armed to the teeth and to murder Palestinians with impunity, but that it is an outrage for an oppressed Palestinian to possess a rifle.
Dimitri Lascaris’ Facebook post refers to a press release issued by B’nai Brith Canada on December 4, 2019 “Violence Promoted to Children at Mississauga Solidarity Event.” Here are excerpts from B’nai Brith Canada’s statement:
A recent Palestinian solidarity event in Mississauga featured children dancing to songs glorifying violence, a B’nai Brith Canada investigation reveals.
On Sunday, the Arab Palestine Association of Ontario (APAO) hosted a commemoration for the “International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People,” featuring outgoing Green Party Leader Elizabeth May and Mississauga Centre MP Omar Alghabra in attendance.
Organizers uploaded a video of children performing Palestinian dances at the event, with some highly questionable lyrics.
One song called on listeners to replace “our bracelets with weapons” and “pull the trigger” in order to combat “the despicable ones.” A similar version of this song was exposed in 2010 by Palestinian Media Watch as part of the Palestinian Authority’s indoctrination of children to wage war on Israel.
The next song described a group gathering for “jihad,” urging the “commandos” to make use of their rifles. This was followed by a number juxtaposing a mother’s celebration of her son’s wedding with her celebration of his martyrdom, a motif common among supporters of Palestinian terrorism.
May gave remarks at the event, calling on attendees to “explain to the Canadian Jewish community, which is full of fine, fine people who think they understand the situation” that the Israeli military and government are “engaging in an absolutely immoral project of dehumanizing the people they don’t want to see there.”