“I thought it was beautiful” says Middle Eastern student at school facing attacks over Arabic song

The use of a song associated with Palestinians at Remembrance Day ceremonies in an Ottawa-area school has some students bracing for a backlash

Desmond Cole

The words “Hamas High” are tagged in spray paint on a welcome sign at Sir Robert Borden high School just outside Ottawa, Ontario. Image taken from @shottawa on Twitter

As some parents and pro-Israel advocates decry the playing of a song often associated with Palestine at a high school’s Remembrance Day ceremonies, a Middle Eastern teenager who attends the school says the outrage is insincere and overblown. The student is a minor and faces the risk of harassment if identified—I refer to them here by the pseudonym “Isa,” and use neutral pronouns, to protect their identity.

Isa, a student at Sir Robert Borden Collegiate just outside of Ottawa in Nepean, Ontario, attended one of the school’s three November 11 ceremonies to honour Canada’s war veterans. They were present when an Arabic-language song entitled Haza Salam (which translates to “This is peace”) was played during the gathering. Isa said they did not notice any visible reaction of alarm from any students or staff at the ceremony they attended. “There were a couple of students who seemed to know the lyrics to the song,” Isa said, “I didn't think anything of it.”

However, Isa said that when they showed up for school the next morning, everyone was talking about a news article that featured parents and advocates condemning the use of the song. “Many people, a majority I'd say, of the people that I overheard or talked to, they seem to strongly agree with the article.” Isa added that, “there were a couple groups of students who were playing the song during lunch and kind of like mocking it in the halls, and that seemed a little bit extreme to me.”

Many critics of the song’s usage highlighted the fact it is sung in Arabic. An unnamed parent incorrectly told the National Post, “they chose an Arabic song about peace for Gaza as the only song to play for a Remembrance Day service” (In fact, several people present at the ceremonies told me that they also included the songs O Canada and Last Post, the British bugle call).

Local Member of Provincial Parliament Lisa MacLeod, a vocal supporter of Israel’s ongoing siege on Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, condemned what she described as “a song in Arabic which did not follow the Royal Canadian Legion protocol and also distressed all of the Jewish Students” at the school. Other groups, like the pro-Israel Jewish Federation of Ottawa, expressed concern that “a song related to the Gaza conflict was included in the Remembrance Day ceremony.”

Haza Salam has become popular among people expressing solidarity with Palestinians, particularly those in Gaza who are being killed and displaced by Israel’s ongoing military siege on the region—the siege has killed more than 43,000 people in 13 months. The song’s lyrics express the pain of war and the inability to realize demands for peace, but do not name any specific nation, people, or conflict. Borden, a public high school, includes a significant Jewish population along with students from many other backgrounds and faiths.

MacLeod and many parents are calling for Aaron Hobbs, the school’s principal, to be fired for allowing the song to be played. Hobbs issued an apology following the ceremonies, saying “the inclusion of a song that could be seen as politically charged was not in line with the values of respect and unity that we strive to uphold at this school.”

Regarding the choice of the song, Isa said “I thought it was beautiful.” They also addressed the idea that Haza Salam is a protest song by saying, “even if it is, it's the meaning of the song that should be recognized rather than what it's being used for.”

The teenager described the climate at school the day after the ceremonies as “very intimidating,” and expressed concern for students of Middle Eastern descent and of the Muslim faith. “I also felt really sad for like the students at my school, who are Muslim, who are Palestinian, who are being directly affected by this. They also can't share their opinions. They can't speak out against it, because they're a minority in terms of opinions.”

I spoke with Isa’s parent, whose identity is also being withheld to protect Isa, and because of concerns about harassment and reprisal for speaking out. The parent said, “there's been a cohort at Sir Robert Borden that's been quite vitriolic, and quite aggressive in opposing students who are trying to stand up for people in Palestine.” According to the parent, Isa was “baffled” by the negative reactions to the music. “Why do we have outrage at a song being played in another language?” the frustrated parent asked.

Isa’s parent feared the media frenzy over the song will make Muslim and Middle Eastern students unsafe, especially if school officials don’t protect them. “I would like to see our leadership in government and the public sphere to grow a backbone and stop treating these issues as if they're polarized,” said the parent. “Treat them for what they are: concerns about human rights, human dignity, and racism.”

On Wednesday, two days after the ceremonies, a sign in front of the school was spray painted with the words “Hamas High.” Principal Hobbs acknowledged the graffiti, and the heightened tensions at the school, in an e-mail to parents early Wednesday afternoon. “We are confident that our school community will emerge from this challenge as a stronger community,” Hobbs said.

Isa recalled that at the school’s ceremonies last year, students from Afghanistan and Syria were invited to speak. “They all went up on stage and shared their experiences with war from their respective countries, and how their families came to Canada and how it's impacted them.” said Isa. “I think that's far more controversial than this song being played, and nobody had an issue with that.”

The student went on to say, “I feel like the reason this is an issue is simply because of the state of the world and the conflicts that are going on right now. It's not because people genuinely have a problem with the song being played.”