Hundreds of protesters swarm Trudeau event in Vancouver to call for end to military support for Israel


CBC
Thu, December 14, 2023 

Hundreds of protesters calling for Canada to end all military support for Israel gathered outside a downtown Vancouver hotel where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was speaking Thursday evening. (CBC News - image credit)

Hundreds of pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered outside the downtown Vancouver hotel where Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was speaking Thursday night to pressure him to cut off Canadian military support for Israel.

Dozens of demonstrators lay under white sheets outside the Westin Bayshore hotel in Coal Harbour, where Trudeau was speaking at a private Liberal Party fundraiser.

Surrounding those on the ground, several hundred more were seen waving Palestinian flags and signs calling for a "Free Palestine."

On social media, demonstrators said the so-called "die-in" was meant to represent the thousands of Palestinians killed in Gaza since the beginning of the war. More than 18,700 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry, since Israel launched a siege on the enclave on Oct. 7 in response to attacks by Hamas that killed close to 1,200 people, according to Israeli officials.

Dozens of demonstrators under white sheets staged a "die-in" outside the hotel, meant to represent the more than 18,700 Palestinians killed by Israel's siege in Gaza since Oct. 7.

Dozens of demonstrators under white sheets staged a 'die-in' Thursday, meant to represent the thousands of Palestinians killed by Israel's siege in Gaza since Oct. 7. (CBC News)

A CBC News reporter on scene in Vancouver said it appeared there were close to 1,000 people at Thursday's protest. CBC News has reached out to Vancouver police for more information.

The demonstration was organized in part by the group Independent Jewish Voices and included a menorah lighting to mark the eighth and final night of Hannukah. The group and several allied organizations called for Trudeau to act on the recent United Nations resolution, which Canada-supported, for a permanent ceasefire and for "an end to the occupation of Palestine."

Independent Jewish Voices is a grassroots organization that advocates for "justice and peace for all" in Israel and the Palestinian territories, according to its website.