The Roman Emperor Nero is said to have “fiddled” while Rome burned.
That’s not wholly true.
Rome did catch fire during Nero’s reign, but there were no fiddles or bowed instruments of any kind.
The original story, as reported by the historian Suetonius, is that Nero put on a stage costume, climbed to the top of a tower, and sang about the fall of Troy as Rome went up in flames beneath him.
But here in Canada we don’t need Nero.
We have Justin Trudeau, he of the strange fondness for costumes and blackface, dancing while Montreal burns.
Anti-NATO, pro-Palestinian protests in Montreal turned violent on Nov. 22.
Protesters hurled small explosive devices and smoke bombs at police, smashed shop windows, and burned cars.
A coffee-shop franchisee was seen giving the Nazi salute and announcing an imminent “final solution” to a group of Jewish counter-protesters.
Police dispersed the rioters with tear gas and pepper spray.
Meantime, Trudeau was in Toronto, waiting for a Taylor Swift concert to begin, where he was spotted dancing like a teenybopper.
The next day, Trudeau and his ministers issued bland statements condemning the rioting: The protesters’ destructive behavior and antisemitism “must be condemned,” “there must be consequences,” rioters must be “held accountable,” rioting “has no place in Montreal” and so on.
No particular action was demanded.
Regrettably, rioting, deliberately intimidating demonstrations and threats of violence have found a place in Montreal and Canada.
They have been happening since Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.
Violent protests in support of Hamas began even before Israel had taken any military action in response.
On university campuses, student “encampments” impeded foot traffic and disrupted graduation ceremonies.
Jewish synagogues, day-care centers and community centers have endured bomb threats.
Pro-Hamas demonstrators blockaded the entrance to a predominantly Jewish area in Toronto.
A recent demonstration in that city took the form of a re-enactment of the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar — not in front of the Israeli embassy or consulate, as one might have expected, but in the middle of a Jewish neighborhood.
Many well-meaning people care deeply about the Palestinian cause; others sincerely believe that the Israeli military has gone too far.
They must be free to express themselves in an orderly fashion.
But most recent protests in Canada seem to have less to do with concern for Palestinians or a desire for peace than with hatred for Israel — and the attacks on synagogues and demonstrations in Jewish residential areas or outside day-care centers suggest a hatred of Jews in general.
Most observers struggle to see how such deeds will help the Palestinian cause or persuade others to embrace it.
The hatred at the heart of the anti-Israel protest movement is obvious.
We saw perhaps the clearest evidence at the Montreal riot, where the NATO summit seemed to arouse a new level of rage and violence among the pro-Palestinian demonstrators.
Curiously, the warrant issued by the International Criminal Court for the arrest of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — and Trudeau’s promise to enforce it — did nothing to dampen the protesters’ destructive enthusiasm.
They shouted “Death to Canada,” “Death to the United States” and “Death to Israel” anyway, as they always do at such protests.
What else does this signify but contempt for Western leaders and institutions, even as those leaders and institutions seem to side with their critics?
In addition, Western intelligence services have been warning about Iranian and other foreign influences on these protests for months.
The Montreal riot seems to be no exception.
Hosting the NATO parliamentary summit, supporting its ally Israel and advocating for peace were supposed to advertise Canada as a mature middle power under Trudeau.
Instead, it has amounted to yet another embarrassment for a government determined to appease Jew-hating thugs, unwilling to maintain public order and reluctant to take foreign interference seriously.
Canada would have better displayed the maturity and competence of its government by cracking down on Montreal’s violent protesters.
Lawbreakers should be punished. Foreign malefactors should be deported.
If the Trudeau government genuinely believes in the liberal and multicultural values it professes, then it must proclaim this message: If you cannot abide living near Jews, if you despise NATO and if you wish death upon Canada, then Canada is not the right country for you.
But Trudeau won’t do this.
He will run out the clock to the next election — now just under a year away — dancing to pop tunes while his country burns.
Michael Bonner, a Canadian communications and public-policy expert with a decade of service in federal and provincial governments, is the author of “In Defense of Civilization: How Our Past Can Renew Our Present.” From the Manhattan Institute’s City Journal.