CBC
Sat, November 4, 2023
People filled Place-des-Arts square from Clark Street to Jeanne-Mance Street to show their support for Palestinians in Gaza. (Erika Morris/CBC - image credit)
The streets of downtown Montreal were flooded with people showing solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza on Saturday amid what they call a major humanitarian crisis. They demanded that Canada call for an immediate ceasefire, place an arms embargo on Israel and work to end the blockade on Gaza.
"Free free Palestine," they chanted as they flew Palestinian flags and set off red, white and green smoke.
People filled Place-des-Arts square from Clark Street to Jeanne-Mance Street before marching down René-Levesque Boulevard toward the CBC/Radio-Canada offices where they criticized its use of the words "conflict" and "Israel-Hamas war."
The protest was one of more than 30 across Canada organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), which mobilizes Palestinians and Arabs in the diaspora. Protests were also held in Washington, D.C.
Sarah Shamy, an organizer with PYM in Montreal, said people have a responsibility to support the "right to Palestinian liberation against colonial domination and racist occupation."
"What we are seeing now is the people of the world, and in Montreal specifically, demanding an end to this genocide and standing for justice and human rights wherever we are," she said.
"This shows that people refuse to be complicit and they refuse for state leaders to do this in our name."
Bara Abuhamed of Montreal 4 Palestine said the amount of people in the streets shows that national leaders "do not represent their people" after Canada abstained from calling for an immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce at a United Nations (UN) Annual Assembly in October.
'Grave risk of genocide'
Earlier this week, seven UN human rights special rapporteurs issued a statement in Geneva saying the Palestinian people "are at grave risk of genocide" and called for a ceasefire. The rapporteurs also said Israel's strike on a refugee camp inside Gaza was a "brazen violation" of international law.
The director of the New York office of the UN high commissioner for human rights, Craig Mokhiber, resigned saying Israel's military actions in Gaza are "textbook genocide" and accused the UN of "failing" to act.
Marie Lamensch, a project coordinator at the Montreal Institute for Genocide and Human Rights Studies at Concordia University, said she believes Israel is committing war crimes.
"It doesn't seem at the moment that the Israeli army or government is trying to minimize the loss of life. We're seeing so many people killed. … It's a question of proportionality," she said.
"If you tell someone to leave a specific area but they have nowhere safe to go, you can say 'Israel warned them,' but where are they supposed to go?"
Sarah Shamy addresses the crowd of protesters demanding a ceasefire in Gaza at Place-des-Arts.
(Erika Morris/CBC)
Israeli officials said about 1,400 Israelis and foreigners were killed since Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked Israel. Since then, Israel has launched attacks on Gaza, killing nearly 9,500 Palestinians as of Saturday, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.
About 1.5 million people in Gaza, or 70 per cent of the population, have fled their homes over nearly a month of bombing and a ground assault from Israel, according to the UN.
Shamy says she believes that protesters will continue to demonstrate until a ceasefire is called.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back against the United States' pressure for a "humanitarian pause" on Friday. He said there would be no temporary ceasefire until the 240 hostages held by Hamas were released.
As some foreign nationals began leaving Gaza, protesters stressed Canada must act to protect the lives of Palestinian civilians.
"They have been under a brutal and suffocating blockade where nothing goes in or out. It's a land, water and air siege and so I think Canada needs to take a proactive role in ensuring that the lives of these 2.2 million people… are saved," said Shamy.
Protesters blocked entrances of the CBC/Radio-Canada building as they criticized media coverage of Gaza.
Israeli officials said about 1,400 Israelis and foreigners were killed since Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked Israel. Since then, Israel has launched attacks on Gaza, killing nearly 9,500 Palestinians as of Saturday, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.
About 1.5 million people in Gaza, or 70 per cent of the population, have fled their homes over nearly a month of bombing and a ground assault from Israel, according to the UN.
Shamy says she believes that protesters will continue to demonstrate until a ceasefire is called.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pushed back against the United States' pressure for a "humanitarian pause" on Friday. He said there would be no temporary ceasefire until the 240 hostages held by Hamas were released.
As some foreign nationals began leaving Gaza, protesters stressed Canada must act to protect the lives of Palestinian civilians.
"They have been under a brutal and suffocating blockade where nothing goes in or out. It's a land, water and air siege and so I think Canada needs to take a proactive role in ensuring that the lives of these 2.2 million people… are saved," said Shamy.
Protesters blocked entrances of the CBC/Radio-Canada building as they criticized media coverage of Gaza.
(Erika Morris/CBC)
Protest at CBC/Radio-Canada
The protest ended outside the CBC/Radio-Canada offices on René-Levesque Boulevard, where about 50 protesters blocked the entrances holding banners and spray-painted "call it genocide" and "justice for journalists in Gaza" on the ground.
They accused the CBC, and other media outlets, of favouring Israel and using language they say dehumanizes Palestinians. They also urged journalists to stand in solidarity with the journalists who were killed by Israeli bombs in Gaza.
More than 30 journalists have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Journalist Syndicate.
"We're supporting those of you who already do important work," said Sarah Boivin, a spokesperson for Independent Jewish Voices Canada, "and to condemn calls on the media to inaccurately report, that is ultimately resulting in the murder of journalists."
Police investigating after car drives through pro-Palestinian rally in East Vancouver
CBC
Sat, November 4, 2023
Jews Against Genocide Vancouver say around 100 people, mostly Jewish, attended the pro-Palestinian demonstration in East Vancouver on Friday, Nov. 3, 2023.
Protest at CBC/Radio-Canada
The protest ended outside the CBC/Radio-Canada offices on René-Levesque Boulevard, where about 50 protesters blocked the entrances holding banners and spray-painted "call it genocide" and "justice for journalists in Gaza" on the ground.
They accused the CBC, and other media outlets, of favouring Israel and using language they say dehumanizes Palestinians. They also urged journalists to stand in solidarity with the journalists who were killed by Israeli bombs in Gaza.
More than 30 journalists have been killed in Gaza since Oct. 7, according to the Palestinian Journalist Syndicate.
"We're supporting those of you who already do important work," said Sarah Boivin, a spokesperson for Independent Jewish Voices Canada, "and to condemn calls on the media to inaccurately report, that is ultimately resulting in the murder of journalists."
Police investigating after car drives through pro-Palestinian rally in East Vancouver
CBC
Sat, November 4, 2023
Jews Against Genocide Vancouver say around 100 people, mostly Jewish, attended the pro-Palestinian demonstration in East Vancouver on Friday, Nov. 3, 2023.
(Micki Cowan/CBC - image credit)
Police are investigating after a vehicle drove through a pro-Palestinian demonstration in East Vancouver on Friday.
Dozens of people at the demonstration, organized by the group Jews Against Genocide Vancouver, had blocked the intersection of Clark and Venables streets to vehicles in all directions around 10:30 a.m, according to Vancouver police.
Videos shared on social media show a vehicle driving northbound on Clark through upturned neon buckets and protesters in the intersection's south side.
"It is alleged a driver entered the intersection as the protest was underway and was briefly surrounded by protesters before continuing through the intersection and driving away," Vancouver police said in a statement Friday afternoon.
Police are also "investigating reports that protesters attempted to open a door on the car while the driver was inside," said the statement.
Police are investigating after a vehicle drove through a pro-Palestinian demonstration in East Vancouver on Friday.
Dozens of people at the demonstration, organized by the group Jews Against Genocide Vancouver, had blocked the intersection of Clark and Venables streets to vehicles in all directions around 10:30 a.m, according to Vancouver police.
Videos shared on social media show a vehicle driving northbound on Clark through upturned neon buckets and protesters in the intersection's south side.
"It is alleged a driver entered the intersection as the protest was underway and was briefly surrounded by protesters before continuing through the intersection and driving away," Vancouver police said in a statement Friday afternoon.
Police are also "investigating reports that protesters attempted to open a door on the car while the driver was inside," said the statement.
Demonstrators calling for a ceasefire in Gaza blocked the intersection of Clark and Venables in East Vancouver on Nov. 3, 2023. (CBC News)
The videos show a person attempting to block the vehicle with a bike, but the vehicle veers left to get around them and into the intersection, driving closely by several protesters along the intersection's north side before continuing northbound on Clark.
Another person holding a large camera can be seen jumping out of the way on the north side of the intersection as the vehicle drives past.
The vehicle's driver-side window appears to be open, as well as the rear driver-side door, as it exits the intersection and continues north on Clark away from the protest.
Vancouver Police said in a news release Friday afternoon they have located the driver and are investigating the circumstances of the incident.
Jewish organizers say Israel doesn't 'speak in our name'
Omri Haiven, an organizer with Jews Against Genocide Vancouver, says the rally was organized to oppose "the ethnic cleansing and massacring of Palestinians" and call for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.
The group is "a coalition of Jews around Vancouver who know that it is now our time to speak up against the genocide that is taking place in Gaza," Haiven told CBC News on Friday.
"We're a group of Jews who refuse to have Israel speak in our name."
The Canadian government has previously said it does not recognize Israeli actions against Palestinians as genocide.
Israel has struck Gaza from the air, imposed a siege and launched a ground assault in the weeks since Oct. 7, when 1,400 people in Israel were killed and more than 240 were taken hostage in attacks by Hamas, a militant group that governs the occupied strip, according to the Israeli government.
The actions have stirred global alarm at humanitarian conditions in the enclave and, according to a Saturday update from officials of the Hamas-run Gaza health ministry, have killed more than 9,488 Palestinians.
More than half of those who have died are children, according to the ministry, and 144 Palestinians have also been killed in the occupied West Bank.
Canada is facing increased pressure to join calls for a ceasefire from the United Nations and humanitarian organizations including Doctors without Borders, a proposition Israeli officials have said they will not agree to.
On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for Hamas to release its hostages and for a "humanitarian pause" to allow water, food and medicine to be delivered to Gaza's more than two million residents, moves also supported by U.S. President Joe Biden.
Haiven says more than 100 people attended Friday's demonstration in Vancouver, one of several other pro-Palestinian gatherings taking place in Vancouver, Surrey, Victoria and Nanaimo this weekend.
On Saturday, hundreds of people gathered outside the Vancouver Art Gallery to call for a ceasefire and express their support for Palestinians.
About 800 people gather in St. John's in support of Palestinians
CBC
Sat, November 4, 2023
Hundreds marched through the streets of St. John's, expressing support for Palestinians. (William Ping/CBC News)
Around 800 people marched through the streets of downtown St. John's on Saturday to show their support for Palestinians during the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
The rally was part of a national day of action and coincided with protests in more than 20 other Canadian cities and hundreds of others being held across the world.
Organizer Elise Thorburn said the march is focused around three demands.
"An immediate ceasefire and end to the genocidal bombing campaign on Gaza," said Thorburn, explaining the demands.
"Lifting the siege on Gaza to allow for urgent medical aid and relief efforts, and an end to Canada's complicity in Israel's war crimes, genocide and colonization of Palestinian land."
Reem Abu-hendi, left, and Elise Thorburn were organizers of Saturday's march.
(William Ping/CBC News)
Reem Abu-hendi, another organizer, said it's important to have these protests take place in Newfoundland and Labrador.
"It's part of our solidarity with Palestinians that are in Gaza, and we have a lot of Palestinian population here as well," Abu-Hendi said. "So it's our duty to help them."
Reem Abu-hendi, another organizer, said it's important to have these protests take place in Newfoundland and Labrador.
"It's part of our solidarity with Palestinians that are in Gaza, and we have a lot of Palestinian population here as well," Abu-Hendi said. "So it's our duty to help them."
Protestors marching down Water Street in St. John's.
(William Ping/CBC News)
The event began with a number of speeches in Harbourside Park, followed by a march down Water Street. The protestors then gathered outside St. John's City Hall for more speeches and continued to march down Duckworth Street.
One of the speakers was Zaid Kay, who was born in Newfoundland but is of Palestinian descent.
Along the route of the march, people with loudspeakers encouraged the crowd to chant slogans like 'Free Palestine.'
The event began with a number of speeches in Harbourside Park, followed by a march down Water Street. The protestors then gathered outside St. John's City Hall for more speeches and continued to march down Duckworth Street.
One of the speakers was Zaid Kay, who was born in Newfoundland but is of Palestinian descent.
Along the route of the march, people with loudspeakers encouraged the crowd to chant slogans like 'Free Palestine.'
(William Ping/CBC News)
"My dream is to explore the olive groves of my ancestors, to watch the sunrise over the Dead Sea, to walk with my father through the home he was expelled from in 1967," Kay said.
"My dream is a secular, democratic, multicultural, binational state from the river to the sea where all people live in freedom and equality, no matter their race or religion. My dream is a free Palestine."
Speaking afterwards, Kay said people should be focusing on human rights.
After a series of speeches outside St. John's City Hall, protestors then continued to march up Duckworth Street.
"My dream is to explore the olive groves of my ancestors, to watch the sunrise over the Dead Sea, to walk with my father through the home he was expelled from in 1967," Kay said.
"My dream is a secular, democratic, multicultural, binational state from the river to the sea where all people live in freedom and equality, no matter their race or religion. My dream is a free Palestine."
Speaking afterwards, Kay said people should be focusing on human rights.
After a series of speeches outside St. John's City Hall, protestors then continued to march up Duckworth Street.
(William Ping/CBC News)
"People should be coming together right now and acknowledging that what we're seeing is not right," Kay said. "As a matter of humanity, we have a duty to speak up. And I think if we don't, then our children will never forgive us and we'll live to regret it."
"We hear so much about the right of Israel to exist and to defend itself, which I don't dispute, but I wish there would be more discussion of Palestine's right to exist and defend itself," Kay said.
The protest attracted a wide demographic of St. John's residents, all gathered to show their support for Palestinians.
"People should be coming together right now and acknowledging that what we're seeing is not right," Kay said. "As a matter of humanity, we have a duty to speak up. And I think if we don't, then our children will never forgive us and we'll live to regret it."
"We hear so much about the right of Israel to exist and to defend itself, which I don't dispute, but I wish there would be more discussion of Palestine's right to exist and defend itself," Kay said.
The protest attracted a wide demographic of St. John's residents, all gathered to show their support for Palestinians.
(William Ping/CBC News)
Saturday's protest was the latest one in St. John's in a string of weekly events since the latest Israel-Hamas war began on Oct 7. At that time, Hamas killed around 1,400 people. Since then, Israel has launched attacks on Gaza with nearly 9,500 Palestinians having been killed by Saturday, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.
Despite the heavy emotions surrounding the protest, Thorburn was impressed with the attendance for the event on Saturday.
The protestors returned to Harbourside Park at the end of their march.
Saturday's protest was the latest one in St. John's in a string of weekly events since the latest Israel-Hamas war began on Oct 7. At that time, Hamas killed around 1,400 people. Since then, Israel has launched attacks on Gaza with nearly 9,500 Palestinians having been killed by Saturday, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.
Despite the heavy emotions surrounding the protest, Thorburn was impressed with the attendance for the event on Saturday.
The protestors returned to Harbourside Park at the end of their march.
(William Ping/CBC News)
"This is a historic day for us here in Newfoundland and all across Canada," she said. "These are probably the biggest mass anti-war protests that have taken place in support of Palestine ever in North American history."
"The support is growing," Thorburn said.
"We want peace. We want an end to this violence. We want a ceasefire now."
Thousands march outside U.S. Consulate in Toronto in support of Palestinians
CBC
Sat, November 4, 2023
Protesters hold Palestinian flags outside the U.S. Consulate in Toronto on Saturday. (Kyaw Soe Oo/Reuters - image credit)
As Palestinians in Gaza reported Israeli airstrikes across the region on Saturday — including in an area where Israel had told civilians to seek refuge — thousands of Torontonians took to the streets to join pro-Palestinian rallies across Canada calling for an immediate ceasefire.
The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has reached 9,448, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East says 72 of its staff members have been killed.
More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, most of them in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that started the fighting, and at least 241 hostages taken from Israel are being held in Gaza by the militant group.
Five hostages have been released since Oct. 7.
Demonstrations were set to take place in more than two dozen Canadian cities Saturday. Many come in the wake of a national call for demonstrations by the Palestinian Youth Movement, a grassroots organization with chapters in Canada and the United States that's calling for a ceasefire in the conflict.
'Nowhere that's safe'
In Toronto, demonstrators rallied outside the U.S. Consulate on University Avenue near Queen Street.
Dalia Awwad, a member of the youth movement in Toronto, said the goal was to make it clear to Canada's government how they feel.
"There's nowhere that's safe in Palestine right now," Awwad said. "Our politicians need to represent our voice, which is [why] there needs to be an immediate ceasefire."
Awwad said she wants Canada and the U.S. to unite in the call for an immediate ceasefire to stop what she calls a "genocide" against Palestinians.
On Thursday, a group of seven United Nations human rights experts, known as special rapporteurs, issued a statement saying they are convinced "the Palestinian people are at a grave risk of genocide."
On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with U.S. President Joe Biden and said they discussed what he described as the urgent need for a "humanitarian pause" in the war. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday that a ceasefire would give Hamas a chance to regroup for another attack.
Awwad said she has family members in both the West Bank and Gaza, and they've had loved ones killed in the Israeli airstrikes.
"My brother-in-law has lost … 24 members of his family, seventeen of whom are children," she said.
Rachel Small attended the rally with a group called "Jews Say No to Genocide." Small said the idea that all Jewish people stand with Israel is incorrect.
"This is a historic day for us here in Newfoundland and all across Canada," she said. "These are probably the biggest mass anti-war protests that have taken place in support of Palestine ever in North American history."
"The support is growing," Thorburn said.
"We want peace. We want an end to this violence. We want a ceasefire now."
Thousands march outside U.S. Consulate in Toronto in support of Palestinians
CBC
Sat, November 4, 2023
Protesters hold Palestinian flags outside the U.S. Consulate in Toronto on Saturday. (Kyaw Soe Oo/Reuters - image credit)
As Palestinians in Gaza reported Israeli airstrikes across the region on Saturday — including in an area where Israel had told civilians to seek refuge — thousands of Torontonians took to the streets to join pro-Palestinian rallies across Canada calling for an immediate ceasefire.
The Palestinian death toll in the Israel-Hamas war has reached 9,448, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East says 72 of its staff members have been killed.
More than 1,400 people in Israel have been killed, most of them in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack that started the fighting, and at least 241 hostages taken from Israel are being held in Gaza by the militant group.
Five hostages have been released since Oct. 7.
Demonstrations were set to take place in more than two dozen Canadian cities Saturday. Many come in the wake of a national call for demonstrations by the Palestinian Youth Movement, a grassroots organization with chapters in Canada and the United States that's calling for a ceasefire in the conflict.
'Nowhere that's safe'
In Toronto, demonstrators rallied outside the U.S. Consulate on University Avenue near Queen Street.
Dalia Awwad, a member of the youth movement in Toronto, said the goal was to make it clear to Canada's government how they feel.
"There's nowhere that's safe in Palestine right now," Awwad said. "Our politicians need to represent our voice, which is [why] there needs to be an immediate ceasefire."
Awwad said she wants Canada and the U.S. to unite in the call for an immediate ceasefire to stop what she calls a "genocide" against Palestinians.
On Thursday, a group of seven United Nations human rights experts, known as special rapporteurs, issued a statement saying they are convinced "the Palestinian people are at a grave risk of genocide."
On Friday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with U.S. President Joe Biden and said they discussed what he described as the urgent need for a "humanitarian pause" in the war. Meanwhile, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Saturday that a ceasefire would give Hamas a chance to regroup for another attack.
Awwad said she has family members in both the West Bank and Gaza, and they've had loved ones killed in the Israeli airstrikes.
"My brother-in-law has lost … 24 members of his family, seventeen of whom are children," she said.
Rachel Small attended the rally with a group called "Jews Say No to Genocide." Small said the idea that all Jewish people stand with Israel is incorrect.
(Alexis Raymon/Radio-Canada)
Rachel Small attended the rally with a group called "Jews Say No to Genocide." Small said the idea that all Jewish people stand with Israel is incorrect.
"We're seeing the killing of thousands, nearly half of them children. And we're also being told that this is being done in our name as Jews," Small said. "We say: absolutely not. We reject that."
Small also wants Canada to call for a ceasefire in the conflict. Small says there were hundreds, if not thousands, of Jewish Torontonians at Saturday's rally calling for an end to the violence.
Rachel Small attended the rally with a group called "Jews Say No to Genocide." Small said the idea that all Jewish people stand with Israel is incorrect.
"We're seeing the killing of thousands, nearly half of them children. And we're also being told that this is being done in our name as Jews," Small said. "We say: absolutely not. We reject that."
Small also wants Canada to call for a ceasefire in the conflict. Small says there were hundreds, if not thousands, of Jewish Torontonians at Saturday's rally calling for an end to the violence.
