Canadian taxpayers fund vile pro-October 7 poet who wrote: ‘Praise the paragliders… their triumphant descension’

A Canadian literary journal funded by taxpayers published a poem that suggested support for the October 7 attacks and praised Hamas paragliders for ‘their triumphant descension’ on Israel.

The piece titled ‘FLOOD’ by Toronto poet Bahar Orang appeared in a new edition of online journal The Ex-Puritan.

‘Praise the paragliders, their gentle ascension, their unbroken morning, and of course their triumphant descension, their feet touching down,’ Orang wrote.

Hamas fighters flew into southern Israel on paragliders as part of the heinous October 7 attack in 2023 that killed about 1,200 people.

‘Praise October,’ Orang continued, before praising the ‘fighters, whose courage nourishes the world.’

She added: ‘Praise their cunning, their patience, the tanks on fire, the enemy fleeing. Praise their flags.’

The Ex-Puritan received a CA$22,000 (US$15,440) grant in 2024, according to a database published by the Canada Council for the Arts.

It is estimated that the council received around CA$364.3 million (US$255.8m) in taxpayer money that year, per the Canadian government.

The award from the Canada Council for the Arts is a four-year operating grant with annual funding, according to the Globe and Mail.

A logo for the council, which is directed by Michelle Chawla, currently appears on the bottom right side of the magazine’s ‘About Us’ page.

The Canada Council has started an internal review of the funding over concerns raised by this edition.

‘While funded magazines have editorial independence, freedom of expression in Canada exists within a broader legal framework and is subject to limits under Canadian law,’ Lise Ann Johnson, the council’s director general of arts granting programs, told the outlet.

‘This is why we aim to carefully balance the importance of freedom of expression with applicable legal limits,’ Johnson continued.

She said the council was an ‘arm’s–length public arts funder’ whose ‘mandate is to foster and promote the arts.’

On their website, The Ex Puritan says that it is ‘grateful for the financial support of Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council.’

Orang, who was guest-editing, explained in an editorial note why the magazine had chosen to ‘turn deliberately toward armed resistance’ in this issue.

‘We do this knowing that the enemy requires our despair, our detachment, our resignation, our complicity, our disdain for militants and our indulgence of liberalism,’ she wrote.

The poet finished her thoughts by writing: ‘We are not freeing Palestine; Palestine is freeing us.’

Ontario-based creative writer Ryanne Kap is listed as the journal’s editor-in-chief.

Israelis mourned at the site of the Nova music festival on Wednesday, where Hamas attacked during the Jewish holiday of Shemini Atzeret three years ago.

Others also remembered the massacre at bomb shelters, intersections and in other communities that were targeted by Hamas militants.

Footage captured that day showed militants gunning down people who were fleeing and going after those seeking protection in bomb shelters.

Hamas also took more than 250 people hostage as part of the attack.

Many of the hostages were raped, gang raped, sexually tortured or mutilated, according to the Civil Commission on October 7 Crimes Against Women and Children.

Israel’s retaliation for the vile Hamas attacks has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health said at least 74,000 Palestinians had been killed, per Al Jazeera.

It has also destroyed much of Gaza and displaced most of its 2 million residents from their homes.

The Daily Mail has reached out to the Ex-Puritan and the Canada Council for the Arts for further comment.