It's Jews Versus Khomeinists in Dispute Over Gibungous Muslims-Only Housing Project

A plan to bring a little bit of Ayatollahville to the city north of Toronto? Who could possibly object to that?

They filled Vaughan City Hall council chambers, the multi-purpose room and the overflow room all to debate a condo tower and townhouse development proposal at Bathurst Street and Rutherford Road last night.        

Residents of the Thornhill Woods community were out in force and spoke in numbers about their opposition to the two 17-storey towers and 61-three-storey townhouse units brought forward by the Islamic Shia Ithna-Asheri Jamaat of Toronto, at 9000 Bathurst St.           

The four-hour-long meeting went along at a fast clip, chaired by Thornhill Ward 5 Councillor Alan Shefman, who made it clear at the outset that he would wouldn't tolerate “views that are unacceptable to the dignity of our proceedings, you’ll be cut off and asked to leave the chamber. It’s your responsibility to keep this discussion focused on the issues and respectful at all times.”                              

With only a few exceptions, the dozens of deputants — the vast majority of whom spoke against the application — followed the rules to the letter and the crowd was extremely well-behaved and respectful given the emotions and underlying concerns of the mainly Jewish residents living near the Muslim developers and their plans to build the development adjacent to the Jaffari Community Centre.                            

Rom Koubi, a resident of Ner Israel Drive who rallied support in opposition to the housing proposal, told the councillors and the massive crowd, “the applicant request does not make sense in Thornhill Woods. Everyone is welcome regardless of race, religion and from any other resident in this neighbourhood. We are here fighting for a right to be free to choose what will be the future for our community. Your voters are sincerely concerned about this so-called application. Why should there be an additional community in our neighbourhood? How can the applicant claim a cultural centre when it is excluding the majority of the residents of our neighbourhood?”...

How? Easy-peasy. Here in the Greater Toronto Area, we love those Khomeinists. The more the merrier. Anyone who's been to an Al Quds Day at Queen's Park knows that.