Windsor, Canada – A billboard that appears to promote Hezbollah — an organization the Canadian government has ruled to be terrorist — has raised the hackles of a number of Windsor community groups. However, one of the people responsible for the sign said it was put up to honour their freedom-fighter families in Lebanon — and it’s their Canadian right to do so.
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“In Canada, we want peace,” said Hussein Dabaja, a Lebanese-born Hezbollah supporter. “We’re not trying to offend anybody. We have freedom of speech. It’s a free country. Every Lebanese in Canada has somebody that died in Lebanon. Who is Hezbollah? Our brothers, our family, our parents, our friends. We came to Canada and they stayed there to fight.”
The billboard went up Friday and immediately drew fire from the Windsor Jewish Community Centre, the Lebanese Christian political group Kataeb and other groups.
The sign prominently depicts Hassan Nasrallah, the head of the Hezbollah and carries English and Arabic text.
In English it reads: “Lebanese and Arab communities in Windsor city congratulate the Lebanese people for their steadfastness and endeavour to establish peace in Lebanon. [Windsor Star]
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The billboard depicting Hezbollah’s controversial leader, which caused an uproar across Windsor, was quietly replaced Monday morning with an advertisement for a car dealership.