The Advisory Center for Jewish and Israeli Relations (CIJA) calls for the resignation of Bochra Manaï, commissioner for the fight against racism and systemic discrimination at the City of Montreal.
“The CIJA has no confidence in Bochra Manaï and asks him to resign after weeks of inexcusable and disqualifying conduct,” wrote Eta Yudin, vice-president of the organization, on the social network X on Tuesday.
“The silence and inaction of the anti-racist commissioner after a historic week of anti-Semitic terrorism are shocking,” she adds. “Mr’s responseme Manai at Motolov cocktails hitting Jewish institutions: silence. His response to the bullets that hit Jewish schools: silence again,” explains the CIJA.
Bochra Manaï was appointed commissioner for the fight against racism and systemic discrimination by the mayor of Montreal, Valérie Plante, when the position was created in 2021. Her appointment had been contested, because two years earlier, she had been the one of the faces of the protest Law on State Secularism. She notably stated that “Quebec has become a reference for extremist supremacists”.
Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, Mme Manaï has remained rather invisible despite the increase in the number of hate crimes in Montreal. The CIJA, however, criticizes him for having shared, on Instagram in particular, pro-Palestinian publications from a group that celebrated Hamas’ attacks against Israel.
In reaction to the CIJA’s request, Aref Salem, leader of the official Opposition at Montreal city hall, criticized the work of the commissioner. “In more than two years in this unprecedented position, she has failed to propose a reliable action plan to fight against systemic racism,” underlined the interim head of Ensemble Montréal.
“The position of commissioner calls for a duty of reserve, to bring together and consult Montreal communities, not to divide them. After the recent public positions taken by Mme Manaï, the administration must ask itself the question of whether it still has the legitimacy and moral authority to occupy this function,” added Mr. Salem.
Metro stations vandalized
Earlier in the day, 16 metro stations were vandalized, in the context of the war between Israel and Hamas. Posters bearing the slogan “Genocide in Palestine, Canada complicit” were put up by dozens on metro entrances during the night.
The Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) confirms having received several calls regarding these posters as early as 5 a.m. Tuesday morning, half an hour before the metro opened.
Affected stations
- Jean-Talon
- Villa-Maria
- Sherbrooke
- Jarry
- Mont Royal
- Beaubien
- Édouard-Montpetit
- Frontenac
- Pie-IX
- Viau
- Fabre
- Montreal university
- Of the park
- From Castelnau
- Acadia
- Prefontaine
“We consider it to be mischief, but it is the hate crimes section which is taking charge of this investigation and which will determine whether it is hatred or not,” explains Sabrina Gauthier, spokesperson for the SPVM.
The signs all have QR codes that lead to websites supporting Palestine. Some present upcoming protests or petitions.
The panels are so sticky that employees of the Société de transport de Montréal (STM) had difficulty removing them. They were affixed to the entrance doors and windows of metro stations. “What we are trying to do at the moment is to redact them or hide them because we have been told that they do not come off easily at all,” adds Mme Gauthier.
The STM, for its part, confirms that teams responsible for maintenance were deployed on the ground Tuesday morning to remove the posters. “Of course, we deplore this type of act of vandalism,” said Amélie Régis, spokesperson for the STM.
On X, Valérie Plante mentioned that “STM metro stations are the gateway to daily life for Montrealers.” “We will not tolerate them being vandalized and users’ feeling of security being affected by unacceptable actions. »
In a more optimistic tone, she mentioned that “peace and goodwill are more constructive avenues than hatred, which we must continue to denounce vigorously”.
The leader of the official opposition at city hall, Aref Salem, expressed his concern. “Molotov cocktails, shootings, violence between students, vandalism in around fifteen metros… It is worrying and above all unacceptable to note that hateful acts linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict are increasing in our metropolis. This must stop,” the interim head of Ensemble Montréal wrote on X.
CIJA said acts of vandalism linked to the conflict between Israel and Hamas “only further encourage a toxic climate.”
“We trust the SPVM and the STM to ensure that our public transportation system is free of hateful messages,” the organization wrote.
With Henri Ouellette-Vézina