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Noah Shack: Christie Pits a reminder that fighting extremism falls on all of us

Our leaders must resist the temptation to import foreign conflict, divide communities for political expediency and fan the flames of hate

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According to family lore, my grandfather was among those who fought at Christie Pits. On Aug.16, 1933, he was one of many who gathered at the Toronto park for what should have been an enjoyable baseball game on a warm summer evening.

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As players took the field, a group of young men unfurled a homemade Nazi swastika banner. They shouted “Heil Hitler” and taunted Jewish spectators. Violence erupted. Before the night was over, more than 10,000 participants and spectators had been drawn into what became known as the Christie Pits Riot, one of the largest outbreaks of public violence in Canadian history.

Noah Shack: Christie Pits a reminder that fighting extremism falls on all of us Back to video

Much has changed since 1933, but threats of ideological extremism and violence have not disappeared — they have evolved. Nearly a century later, Canada again faces the challenge of foreign hatred........

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