By Yves Engler

The mayor of an exclusive Montréal suburb is okay with Israel killing 100,000 Palestinian children since “good needs to prevail over evil”.

At a recent event with the Israeli consul of Montréal, I asked Hampstead mayor Jeremy Levi if he supported a ceasefire to release the Israelis held by the Palestinian Resistance movement Hamas. Despite the inner suburb passing a special measure to protect posters about the hostages, the mayor said no.

I then questioned whether “you support killing 8,000 Palestinian children?” to which Levi responded, “I would never support that, it’s terrible. But Israel has to do whatever they have to do to ensure the safety and security of their own people.”

My response was “even if 20,000 Palestinian children were killed, you’d still support Israel?” Levi replied, “Hamas needs to be eradicated.” Pressing on, I enquired if he’d support “50,000 Palestinian children killed?” Levi responded, “No, it’s terrible, but there’s no other way. My heart goes out to all the other innocent people who have suffered in this tragedy. But good needs to prevail over evil.”

I pushed further asking, “So 100,000 Palestinian children killed, you’d still support that?” Levi replied, “You can give me all kinds of numbers, my answer is still going to be the same. Israel needs to eradicate Hamas.”

My response was, “So you support Israel no matter what it does?” to which Levi replied, “I support Israel.” Prompting me to query, “No matter what it does?” Levi: “Until the end. Until Hamas is [sic] victorious, I support Israel.”

More than a 1.2 million have watched the exchange on X and thousands more on other social media platforms. The Montreal Gazette, RT and others reported on it. In response, Levi released a statement saying, “I want to express my unwavering support for Israel while acknowledging the tragic loss of innocent lives in the ongoing conflict.”

Renowned activist and Palestine Chronicle contributor Yves Engler obtained a shocking admission from the mayor of a Montreal suburb.

At an event with Israel consul on Sunday, Hampstead mayor Jeremy Levi told @EnglerYves that he would continue supporting Israel even if they… pic.twitter.com/XuxcuIY6wt

— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) December 12, 2023

On X Mayor Levi has posted many statements supporting Israel’s genocidal policies. In one he noted, “To all the protestors screaming FREE FREE PALESTINE. Don’t worry, help is on the way. The IDF is coming to liberate the Palestinians of Hamas.” On Facebook he responded (presumably) to BLM’s support for Palestinians by posting “Black Lives Matter = Jewish Lives Don’t matter”.

Three weeks ago, Hampstead passed legislation to give $1000 tickets to anyone tearing down posters of the hostages Hamas took to Gaza on October 7. Any money raised from the fines will be sent to Israel.

The genocide lobby has hyped the issue of tearing down posters as part of their bid to play victim. Additionally, the hostages have been instrumentalized by the Israeli government to justify slaughtering Palestinians. Israel claims its violence in Gaza is designed to return the hostages even though many family members of the hostages want Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to Hamas’ proposal for a ceasefire and to exchange their family members for the many thousands of Palestinians kidnapped by Israel.

At its October 14 council meeting Hampstead passed a resolution calling on the federal government to exhaust all options to assist the hostages and advocated Canada violate international law by moving its embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. Concurrently, Hampstead instigated an effort to raise $195,000 for an ambulance for its “twin” town, Kiryat Shemonah, in Israel. An Israeli flag flies in front of Hampstead’s city hall.

The anti-Palestinian municipality is a wealthy, ethnically segregated, enclave that traces its roots to an anti-urban British planning movement. Hampstead was modeled after the Garden City movement, a late-1800s move by London’s elite to move out of the city centre. Just west of Montréal, Hampstead was established by some of the wealthiest Canadians in 1914.

The municipality doesn’t allow retail shops in its boundaries. It’s all residential with no industrial land or commercial space. It is one of a few communities in Canada with this type of restrictive zoning.

With 7,000 residents Hampstead is one of the wealthiest municipalities in Québec. Until after the Second World War, it was almost entirely WASP (White Anglo-Saxon Protestant). Today Hampstead is over three-quarters Jewish. “We are proud to be home to one of the most concentrated Jewish populations outside of Israel”, mayor Levi wrote in a recent letter to residents.

This exclusive neighborhood 9,000 kilometers from Israel has fostered a fanatically anti-Palestinian ethos. It’s one where the mayor is comfortable saying Israel can kill 100,000 Palestinian children because “good needs to prevail over evil”.

 – Yves Engler is the author of Canada and Israel: Building Apartheid and a number of other books. He contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle. Visit his website: yvesengler.com.