In a game filled with tension - one-goal game or tied for the whole 60 minutes, the Habs managed to stave off a tying goal and won 2-1 over the Yotes.
Alex Galchenyuk returned for the first time since he was traded to Arizona for Max Domi. The team paid tribute to him with a typical, classy Canadiens "merci" video, and it was clear he was touched by it. And though he managed to net a goal late in the third frame, it was reversed when Claude Julien challenged for offside.
Habs fans know those calls rarely go our way, but to our delight (and shock!), the referee announced that it was, in fact, offside, and there was no goal.
This marked my first time liveblogging a game. I had practiced over the week, but this one was the one that had to count. First, I settled on a style I liked (modeled after Mike Boone's way of indicating period and time), and got into the flow of posting as I usually tweet.
There are a lot of features I have yet to discover in ScribbleLive, but I learned to pull in tweets and use them to illustrate the progression of the game, as well as the mood on Twitter - both Habs and Coyotes streams.
I thoroughly enjoyed doing this; it also, as I posted later in the game, kept me from my usual spot, wearing out the carpet in front of the television as the tension mounts. That's when I usually try to push the puck with my hand (never works), or inch closer to the screen (55" isn't big enough when one is trying to help her team win), or just stand with my hands over my eyes - peeking through my fingers.
Being a (rabid) Habs fan has its drawbacks. Tension, too uptight to eat on game nights, emotional rollercoaster.
But it also has its benefits. I mean, I know my heart is healthy. And when the Habs win, it's that much sweeter.
So here, without further ado, is my liveblogging assignment. It took me a while to apologize for the overabundance of exclamation marks - so I'm making up for it by apologizing now. I do tend to get....enthusiastic.
In a newsletter I received from B'nai Brith, it has come to light that Igor Sadikov - about whom I wrote last night - has doubled down on his hatred, and has been contacted on social media by willing participants to his violence.
From the newsletter:
Igor
Sadikov continues to spread anti-Jewish falsehoods, even after his
tweet calling on his followers to “punch a Zionist” was exposed
by B’nai Brith Canada Thursday. The report sparked a media
firestorm.
Sadikov, clearly an unrepentant member of the
Legislative Council and Board of Directors of the Students’ Society of
McGill University (SSMU), issued a statement
defending his tweet as “opposition to the adherents of a
political philosophy,” but “not an attack against Jewish students,”
citing his own “Jewish heritage”. According to Jewish
students at McGill who have known Sadikov for years, he has never
before publicly identified himself as Jewish or claimed any Jewish
background.
Disturbingly, in the space below his “apology” on
Facebook, Sadikov “liked” a comment
from someone else, promising that “I can punch one for you if your
position does not allow you to.” The “like” took place about seven
hours after he made his so-called “apology.”
The screenshot:
Students have reported to B’nai Brith that, in a
tense meeting of the SSMU Legislative Council last night, Sadikov
refused to promptly resign, arguing that Jews do not constitute a
legitimate ethnic group and that there is no historical connection
between the Jewish People and the Levant. A motion to censure Sadikov
for his comments failed by a large margin.
Later in the meeting, a member of McGill’s
BDS
Action Network demanded that Jasmine Segal, a Jewish
member of the Legislative Council, be impeached for “supporting
Zionism.” While Segal was not impeached, the President of SSMU and
other Council members refused to speak in her defence.
Segal
told B’nai Brith that, “A university’s purpose is to promote a free
exchange of ideas and thought - it does not matter what you believe or
support. The only exception is that there can be no support for
violence as a tool to suppress another person's free speech. I had
approached the President of SSMU in near tears, explaining my
position, and was told that I would hear an apology and a public
statement in the meeting. No apology was ever delivered. I am worried
for students who are now scared to be a part of student government
because of what happened to me today.”
Meanwhile,
McGill itself condemned
Sadikov’s remarks, saying in a statement, “We believe that they
violate a number of our policies” and that “appropriate offices are
taking action as required.”
“B’nai Brith Canada is disgusted by the response of
SSMU, which allowed the escalation of attacks against Jewish students
at McGill,” said Michael Mostyn, chief executive officer of the
organization. “We have written to both SSMU and the administration,
and our Quebec office filed a complaint to police (Thursday) about
this matter.
“I
cannot stress enough how appalled we are by what’s transpired in the
past 48 hours. Rather than condemning Sadikov and distancing SSMU from
his offensive position, it has chosen to remain silent about
discrimination and incitement to violence toward its Jewish
constituents. The McGill administration must move quickly to protect
its own elected representatives.”
For more information
contact:
Marty
York
Chief Media
Officer
marty.york@bnaibrith.ca
416-633-6224
x163
or
Daniel
Koren
Media
Coordinator
daniel.koren@bnaibrith.ca
416-633-6224
x172
As pointed out by a good friend, someone who is deeply knowledgeable about these issues, Sadikov should be charged under the Criminal Code, Section 319 as follows:
Public incitement of hatred
319(1) Every one who, by communicating statements in any public place, incites hatred against any identifiable group where such incitement is likely to lead to a breach of the peace is guilty of
(a) an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years; or
(2) Every one who, by communicating statements, other than in private conversation, wilfully promotes hatred against any identifiable group is guilty of
(a) an indictable offence and is liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years; or
Meanwhile, I have forwarded last night's piece to various outlets, including B'nai Brith (the two gentlemen whose contact information is above) and have tweeted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to disavow this student.
But others ARE speaking up. And this revelation that Sadikov has continued his crusade, even after his "apology" is alarming, to the point where I believe criminal charges MUST be filed.
Please share your thoughts. And speak up.
We must not allow hatred to continue as a result of silence.
Montreal is a city rich with educational institutions. One such venerable university, McGill University, is what many consider to be Montreal's "Ivy League University".
The movement has been in existence since 2005, and has faced pushback from the International community - Jewish and non-Jewish organizations alike.
Though they may claim their mission is to help the Palestinian people allegedly "oppressed" by Israel, the very nature of the movement is not to help others, but to punish Israel. This piece very deftly explains why the BDS movement is one of hate, and is not pro-Palestinian.
That left a stain on McGill's reputation, but with the University's denouncement of the movement in the days that followed, things seemed to right themselves again over the past 12 months.
Until now.
On Thursday, February 9, 2017, it came to light that a McGill student representative, in the faculty of arts, had tweeted, urging his followers to "punch a Zionist today." Igor Sadikov tweeted it Monday, but it only became known on Thursday.
The tweet - now deleted - looked like this:
The word spread swiftly, through social media, and there were immediate calls denouncing it - and the student.
B'nai Brith, and CIJA - the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs - called for the student to resign, stating that not only was the tweet anti-Semitic, but called for violence as well.
Sadikov released a statement justifying his tweet - but how such a thing can be justified is beyond me. His statement reads:
See, he - and others who support his point of view - may see Zionists as separate from Jews, but that is a fallacy. Yes, there are non-Jewish Zionists, and there are Jews who are not Zionists. The definition of a Zionist is - from the Jewish Virtual Library:
Its general definition means the national movement for the return of the Jewish people to their homeland and the resumption of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel.
It's truly difficult to justify "punch a Zionist" as anything but anti-Semitic, especially given his expanded explanation. It is thinly veiled anti-Semitism.
Those of us who support Israel, and stand up for her right to exist, also recognize that there has never been a Palestinian State, and rather than go into the why's and wherefores of the conflict that spawned the BDS movement, I will refer you to this short video:
While I have been very outspoken about my love for Israel, and my support of the policies that govern the land in the name of security and safety, that's not what I'm here to do at this time.
This piece addresses the danger, and the infuriating sentiment expressed by Sadikov - and supported by those with the same thoughts.
First of all, he is a student representative - elected to that role by fellow students. Imagine how many of them are Jewish, and had no idea he harbored this kind of hatred.
A report on the incident, in The Algemeiner, states this:
According to Canadian human rights organization B’nai Brith Canada, Sadikov is a prominent supporter of the BDS movement at McGill. He is also the former news editor of The McGill Daily, which, as The Algemeiner reported, openly admitted to censoring pro-Israel content on the grounds that Zionism is a product of “settler colonial ideology.”
Secondly, he is advocating for violence (and his weak justification "I do not condone nor justify violence on the basis of membership in any identity group" belies that). This puts Jewish students in danger, but it goes further.
If this student is allowed to stay at the University, given his initial tweet and suggested action against Jews, it sends a very strong message to ALL who discriminate based on identity in any group.
This puts all students at risk: visible minorities, disabled, LGBTQ, students who speak different languages - or even just French or just English - or even those who are perceived as different from the attacker. Bullies need no reason to target others; intolerant hate-filled individuals go beyond that: their reasons are differences of others, based on identity.
The precedent it sets, should he be allowed to stay, is treacherous for all students not only at McGill University, but anywhere, any level institution, any city, any province, and yes, any country where hate speech is allowed to flourish unpunished.
Note: there is a difference between free speech and hate speech. This is a textbook example of hate speech, which is never to be allowed, and can be prosecuted.
McGill University is an internationally renowned institution. Its international-student body is extensive (roughly one-third of enrolment is international, according to the registration statistics as of Fall 2016):
What would happen, should potential students in the international community were to find out that a known anti-Semite, elected to be a student rep, and remaining untouched by the University itself, is encouraging the rest of the student body to punch Zionists? (And I don't care if the tweet has been deleted, it's out there and has been publicized - the damage is done)
What would happen, should parents/family members in the international community, with students already at McGill University, were to hear that a known hater was allowed to stay, not only harboring hateful thoughts toward those with whom he disagrees, but encouraging violence - and most likely continuing those thoughts among friends and like-minded classmates?
McGill University would lose a great deal of its income, should that happen. Who knows? It may already be happening, with this incident being reported throughout Canada, the USA, Israel, and other countries.
Sadikov has angered an untold number of people, Jews and non-Jews alike. If anyone is not enraged by his tweet, and his attitude, I would urge them to ask themselves why (that is, if they don't already know it is because they agree with him).
History is a perfect, effective guideline for us to use to inform our actions. It may not have been during Sadikov's lifetime - it wasn't during mine - but it was not too long ago that Jews in Eastern Europe were attacked in this very same manner.
Note: I do not invoke comparisons to Nazi Germany casually. I recognize the profound depths of horror that period in history represents, but it's an apt comparison to draw here. Not only because of 1930s Nazism, but because there are anti-Semites who are continuing to perpetuate their hatred even today.
There was no Internet then, but there was media, and there were posters, songs, jingles, and directives from Nazi Germany to perpetrate violence upon Jews.
Nazi Germany, led by Hitler, and the implementation of "The Final Solution" to exterminate the Jewish people, was a place and time of hatred, based on identity. There are many, many stories of Jews being accosted in the streets, Jewish men being subjected to scissors cutting off their beards and hair, for purposes of humiliation as well as stripping them of their identity. There are many stories of Jews being tormented en masse, unable to fight back for fear of being killed - because those humiliating them were armed, and sanctioned by Hitler's government.
Jews were subjected to hatred borne by those who needed very little in the way of a reason in order to harm, or kill them.
And now, Jewish students - Zionists or not - are being subjected to the very real possibility of violence against them, encouraged by a member of the student body who has been elected to represent the students in the faculty of arts.
In fact, the law student who brought the tweet to the public eye (Simon Paransky) stated, in an interview:
“It’s appalling that a student representative is calling for violence against a certain group of people,” Paransky said. “And it is not an isolated incident. It is happening in a context of increased hostility to students on campus, mostly students of Jewish faith but also students of non-Jewish faith who are allies of Jewish students.”
How is the person who unleashed this upon the student community at McGill University being allowed to stay on at the school?
There are many of us, mobilizing to protest this student's existence at McGill. We are protesting his continued status as student rep, and as student at all. We are calling upon McGill University to expel him, or - as the most recent reports say - force his resignation.
If he is allowed to stay, I hope the community - local, and international - will govern themselves accordingly. Funding should be stopped. Enrolment should be stopped, and perhaps transfers out of McGill become the norm.
Sadly, it is only the threat of financial loss - and/or negative publicity - that will force the hand of the University.
This is not going away. Nor should it. We should ALL be speaking up, we should ALL be railing against the tolerance of violent rhetoric, anti-Semitism, and hatred condoned by an internationally renowned institution of higher education.
Because today it is anti-Semitism - tomorrow it could be any of a number of other groups targeted for violence and hatred.
And the way I see it, if McGill does nothing about this, they are condoning - perhaps even endorsing - the call for violence, and should be consequenced accordingly.
One last note: where is Canada's Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau? This story has been circulating for almost 24 hours, and he has always been quick to condemn violence against Muslims, but seemingly silent when Jews have been involved.
As the leader of our country, as a Montrealer himself, he should be speaking up, condemning the student, and adding to the pressure upon McGill to expel Sadikov permanently.
Along with our call to protest McGill's harboring of an anti-Semitic student rep, we call upon the Prime Minister to speak up against this student and join us in our urging McGill University to act.
Folks, not everyone is an activist. Some people just prefer to stay out of it, and disengage while harboring their own private thoughts.
But even if you disavow this student and what he stands for, in your thoughts, it is not enough. If we all remain silent, what can change? Silence can be deadly.
I will end with the wise words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr:
In the End, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.
If you are as incensed as so many of us are, please speak up. Share this article. Talk about it with your family, friends, kids, parents. Let McGill University know that you do not support their permitting Igor Sadikov to remain on campus, much less a student representative.
You are speaking up for this situation, but you are also investing in the future of humanity - one person at a time.
It's been a few days and I've gotten my thoughts together. The week has been tumultuous in Habsville, extended beyond the hockey world, and I've got to have my say.
Less than a week after Twitter produced such a positive aura, where so many of us bonded together in outrage over a cruel and uninformed article, my timeline was once again filled with debate, argument, patronizing and dissension.
From a city whose passion is so strong for its team has come a firing/hiring and polarizing issue which has little, if any, relevance to the game we all adore.
Waking up Saturday morning, finding out the Habs had fired Coach Jacques Martin, I avoided Twitter. I was among those who did not feel the coach was the problem. I actually hated the calls for his head on a platter, and was as outspoken as I could be without being able to discuss every nuance of the game. All I knew was that, from the human point of view, the man was doing a job that also depended on a crew of others to execute it for him. Did I understand the decisions he had to make? Not really. I did have others explain them (e.g. time-on-ice decisions, special teams assignments, healthy scratches, etc). But I still could not believe that professional hockey players would underperform in order to show their disdain for a coach. I - perhaps naively - thought that no matter the coach, the team would play to win. Every, single time.
They may. As a Habs fan, I believe they do. I have to. But then, December 17th, the management of our team showed they believed otherwise, and decided to change coaches.
First issue I had to deal with that day was my compassion for the man himself. I felt terrible for him. I was told, "nevermind, he's got $1,000,000 firing bonus, he'll be fine." But somehow I believed that the money, to Jacques Martin, was never an issue. I believed he cared more about the game, not about his wallet. (Does the money help? Of course! But in so many people, there is a calling for the position and that supersedes the pay check).
I felt awful that he was spending Christmas out of work. Again, scoffed at by those dancing in the streets who said it didn't matter. Again, my above argument was negated by many who dismissed it as my being new to the game, new to the culture, and Mr. Martin's comfy nest egg.
Dave Stubbs wrote a beautiful article which expressed, better than I could, exactly what I had been feeling. And I felt the debate would, perhaps, die down.
But then, the Uproar. The Habs now have an interim coach, Randy Cunneyworth, who is - ready for this shocker? - an Anglophone. Worse, an Anglo who is not bilingual! (I hear the gasps)
Those reading this who are either non-Quebecois, non-Canadian, or unaware of this issue, Quebec is a primarily French province, though Canada's TWO official languages are French and English. There has been an unwritten rule that the Habs do not have a unilingual coach. Coach must be able to speak both languages, or he isn't considered. It's one of the reasons we did not see Kirk Muller as a future head coach for us; no one was fooled by the fact that he was always involved, effective, and obviously liked and respected by all, including players. We all knew Captain Kirk would never be able to take the podium as head coach, because he is an Anglo.
But I don't think anyone could have predicted the maelstrom to follow. Perhaps it was hinted at when Coach Cunneyworth, along with GM Pierre Gauthier, sat in front of cameras and recorders for a pre-game (FIRST game, to be clear) interview. French media directed questions only at Mr. Gauthier, while Randy got English questions from English press. And (too) many of those French questions focused on the fact that the new Coach was unilingual. If that wasn't bad enough, it was becoming a topic du jour on Twitter, where well-known French media personalities were posting actual disappointment over the hiring.
It got worse. It became a Story that spread to the rest of Canada (which highlighted the story Monday morning on Canada A.M.) and then to CNN, an American 24-hour news channel! Why? Because the Government of this province stated, clearly, its objections to Coach Cunneyworth at the helm. The government!!!
So the issue emerged on Twitter (where much of my Habs-related discussions take place): do you want a coach who will win, or a coach who will speak French? The consensus was the former, but would those who stood for the latter actually stand up? It is hard to tell, and yet, the undercurrents are growing.
We were asked, "will the language debate die down once the team starts to win?" I stated my opinion that no...those decrying this hiring were doing so before the coach took the bench for his first game wearing the hat. This isn't going away, win or lose, and that's the point I believe should be examined. Those who are more ingrained in the language issue are less involved in the sport. Otherwise, it wouldn't matter one bit if the coach spoke one, two, or three languages! As Habs fans, should winning, success, and future victories not be at the core of EVERY issue?
We may debate the lines a coach puts on the ice, we may debate the pairings and we may debate how much time-on-ice rookies are being given. But we do so because we want to see winning lines, winning pairings, and winning players make the difference between smiles and disappointments. Not because one is English, one is Russian, one may be younger, or one is African-American. We love our team because of the passion we feel for the game, not because of their individual make-up. We embrace the differences of our team players, we celebrate their individuality, but when they are on the ice, they are Our Team. Not Pacioretty, A.K., Louis or PK. We see them as a unit, working together to net the goals and tip the scales in favor of Habs wins.
So why should it matter what language our coach speaks? If he can motivate the team to work hard, if he can conduct drills in practices that strengthen and develop their skills, if he can find winning combinations of 5-player hockey, penalty-kill hockey, and power-play hockey, all to reach the end goal of scoring more than the opponent, does it matter if he can conduct a press conference in English only?
I acknowledge, respectfully and proudly, our two solitudes. I acknowledge that Habs hockey is ingrained in our culture, and that culture includes French and English. But the most immediate issue at hand for our Habs (OUR Habs, people) is the fact that we're finding it hard to keep leads, and win games. I'd like to see my Province NOT mocked on international news shows. I'd like to see people once again bonding together over hockey, not distracted by sub-issues. I'd like to see this Province give Coach Cunneyworth the respect he deserves for stepping into big shoes, faced with struggles on the ice, and for being at the center of a long-standing debate that will not go away if, or when, he is no longer with the organization.
(photo created by me - to express the City's heart this week)
There have been a lot of emotions running rampant in my city this week. Since The Hit on Canadiens' forward Max Pacioretty by Boston Bruins' Zdeno Chara, hockey fans - and many non-hockey fans - have gone from shock, to fear, anger to outrage, confusion to utter mystification. Yesterday's news that Patch was home brought hope and relief. Letters from Air Canada to the NHL, and Geoff Molson to the home base brought a renewed sense of empowerment. The news that the Montreal police were investigating the Hit brought everything from amusement to derision. And bloggers streamed into my Twitter timeline from Habs Inside/Out's Dave Stubbs after The Hit and after The Decision, to Kyle Roussel, Sports Illustrated's (and Montreal's own) Michael Farber and Montreal Gazette's Red Fisher. The emotions ranged from low to high on every front, and as each blogger weighed in, emotions were renewed.
But what struck me most profoundly of all was the solidarity we were all experiencing. Montreal is a hockey city, and I've never been more aware of that since my hockey awakening began with last season's playoff run. But this week, as we all tweeted (2 days where hundreds upon hundreds of tweets updated by the second and I made many new Twitter friends), posted on Facebook, called into radio shows, emailed one another, and kept abreast of the story online, I felt a pride that was only strengthened by our togetherness.
We were banding together in positive energy sent to MaxPacs. We bonded over the anger that his assailant got off scot-free. We agreed on analogies comparing street thugs and hockey bullies, criminal behavior vs "part of the game", and we shared our resolve to have our voices heard as fans, fanatics and humans.
I found myself reflecting on my city. My City. Montreal's been home to me all my life, but I've seen it in a new light being a new fanatic of the game of hockey. I watch American broadcasts of our games and swell with pride when they show pictures of downtown, the Bell Centre, and talk about our history - hockey and non-hockey related. I travel the subway with my kids, on the way to a Habs game, and feel At One with every other attendee going my way, wearing the bleu-blanc-rouge. I talk to people from other cities who, even if they root for another team, laud the electricity felt at the Bell Centre. I go to games and feel a new awareness of how lucky I am to live in a city which has a European flavor, a metropolitan buzz, and yet sometimes - like this week - boils down to a village mentality where we are all one with each other.
So instead of blogging anger (which I still feel) or loathing (which is now stronger than I thought I'd feel toward another team and its fans) or disgust (if I even qualify that I WILL blog about it), I would like to share my profound love of being a Montrealer, my extraordinary pride in my city and its citizens, and my continued support for my team, its players, and the fans who help make Loving My Habs that much more of a global experience.
