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Barbara Kay is a columnist for the Canadian national broadsheet the ''National Post'', wherein she expressed, in a series of three articles, beginning with a column entitled "The Rise of Quebecistan," on August 9, 2006, her concern at the involvement of Quebec politicians in a demonstration in support of Lebanon during the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict that took place on August 6, 2006, in the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Kay wrote: "'The Rise of Quebecistan,' has become a focus for great controversy in Quebec. In the past week, I have been interviewed by numerous radio stations, both French and English, and declared an enemy of the people, in so many words, in no less than three newspapers, including in a Post column... ."〔(Quebecers in denial: Counterpoint ) by Barbara Kay, ''National Post'', August 17, 2006〕 Kay claimed that both she, and what she described as her "criticism" of the demonstration, were attacked by elements of the French Quebec media and politicians—some of whom support the separation of the province of Quebec from Canada—was seemingly because her criticisms were expressed in the English language; and not French.〔(Say what you want (as long as it's in French) ) by Barbara Kay, ''National Post'', November 22, 2006〕 == "Virulently anti-Israel rally" == On August 6, 2006, Parti Québécois (PQ) leader André Boisclair, Bloc Québécois (BQ) leader Gilles Duceppe, Québec solidaire (QS) spokesperson Amir Khadir and Liberal Party of Canada Member of Parliament (MP) Denis Coderre participated in a rally in opposition to Israel's actions in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict. The event was described by Kay as: "...a virulently anti-Israel rally, and scattered amongst the crowd were a number of Hezbollah flags and placards." Kay wrote of the four politicians that participated in the rally: All four, along with prominent Quebec union leaders, signed a manifesto that did not condemn Hezbollah's aggression, then endorsed and willingly undertook a dominant role in a march at which Hezbollah flags were in evidence, along with placards, reading "Juifs assassins," (Jewish assassins ), (not "Israelis" -- Jews), "Nous sommes tous Hezbollah," (We are all Hezbollah ), "Longue vie a Nasrallah," (Long life to Nasrallah ), "Vive le Hezbollah," (Long live Hezbollah ). Kay wrote that these Quebec politicians participated in the rally despite Hezbollah being an organization officially classified as a terrorist group by the Canadian government. She also asserted that the rally's organizing committee "deliberately excluded a Jewish presence", which was "in itself an anti-Semitic act and a warning to any politician, whose business it is to remain neutral in affairs of this kind, to stay away." The rally also didn't call for "peace" but a cease fire or hudna. Kay asked: "If these signs had read: 'We are all KKK,' 'Long life to Osama Bin Laden,' 'We are all Nazis,' 'Women are pigs,' would these same leaders have turned the blind eye they did at the time? Hezbollah's mission is to eradicate Jews—not just Israelis—from the earth." And Kay felt that the involvement of politicians in the rally was troubling: "It is true that similar marches have taken place in other cities. The difference is that politicians in Toronto and elsewhere in Canada do not march at the head of these hatefests."〔 Kay commented on the motivations of the politicians, noting: Their cultural and historical sympathy for Arab countries from the francophonie -- Morocco, Algeria, Lebanon -- joined with reflexive anti-Americanism and a fat streak of anti-Semitism that has marbled the intellectual discourse of Quebec throughout its history, has made Quebec the most anti-Israel of the provinces, and therefore the most vulnerable to tolerance for Islamist terrorist sympathizers.〔 Kay speculated that these politicians may also have been cynically seeking votes from Canadians of convenience asserting: These politicians are playing a dangerous game. They have no political support from Jews (who are all federalists), so have nothing to lose in courting anti-Israel Arab groups. There are at least 50,000 Lebanese-Canadians in the Montreal area. We can expect those numbers to swell as Hezbollah-supporting residents of southern Lebanon cash in on their Canadian citizenship and flee to the safety of Quebec. Under the circumstances, it may be politically convenient for some left-wing Quebec politicians to stoke fires of enthusiasm for Hezbollah -- an organization officially classified as a terrorist group by the Canadian government. Yet it would be disastrous for the future of the province.〔 She concluded her second editorial on the subject as follows:
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