Pamela Geller struck back at the Toronto Board of Rabbis (TBR) for a critical statement it issued just hours before her appearance Monday night at the Zionist Centre.
In a press release, the TBR said it considered Geller’s views “distasteful” and expressed “profound disappointment that a local Jewish organization” [the Jewish Defense League of Canada] had invited her to speak here. It described Geller as “a blogger who is known for her extreme criticism of Muslims in language that is intended to shock and ridicule.”
Geller was unaware of the TBR statement until the Jewish Tribune brought it to her attention. The TBR said it is “a strong supporter of freedom of speech for all, including Ms. Geller. Ms. Geller’s voice and message are already well known here in Canada and beyond. There was no sense in inviting her here to speak before a Jewish audience.”
The 400 people who purchased tickets, and the numerous people who were turned away at the door, may beg to differ. The main room where Geller spoke was standing room only and another room was filled with people who paid to watch her on a screen.
The audience reacted audibly with shocked gasps and exclamations when Geller announced, “Today the Toronto Board of Rabbis came out with a statement condemning me.”
She continued, “Now, let me tell you what’s most egregious about this: they never contacted me. They didn’t cite one quote from me: not one. I have [authored] three books, I have [written] hundreds of articles, I have written 26,000-plus [blog] posts: not one quote. But they will give chum to the sharks by pitting Jew against Jew….
“To the Toronto Board of Rabbis, I say it is the mission of the yehudim to speak the truth. Shame on you; shame on you. They’re guilty of lashon hara, the evil gossip that is a lie.”
Geller spoke about a range of topics, including Islamic jihad (holy war against non-Muslims); all with the central theme of defending individual rights and freedoms which, she said, are under attack by people on the radical left as well as adherents of extremist Islam.
“My line in the sand is freedom of speech because I know my ideas are better,” she said. “Mine is not a religious issue. The premise, the font, of all of my ideas is individual rights…. Anyone that says that I am anti-Muslim is…implying that all Muslims support jihad.”
Although the Toronto Police Service (TPS) had not received any complaints about Geller’s appearance, members of its hate crimes unit were in the audience monitoring what was said, TPS Spokesperson Mark Pugash confirmed.
Nothing Geller and her hosts said crossed the line into hate speech, according to police.
“There was nothing that they heard that leads them to believe any action is necessary,” said Pugash.
There were no protests against the event either outside or inside the building.