In Montreal, signs of the war between Israel and Hamas can be found almost everywhere. Discordant posters and graffiti demonstrating support for Israeli or Palestinian causes are now part of the urban landscape: on sidewalks, on lampposts and on bus shelters.
The rivalry between the pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian camps is playing out as a visual competition not only in Montreal, but across North America, raising questions about the role these images play in escalating tensions local issues linked to this conflict taking place overseas.
The intensity of this rivalry sets it apart from other cultural and political conflicts in recent history, according to Aidan McGarry, a professor of international politics at Loughborough University in England who studies the visual elements of protest movements.
The demonstrations spark counter-protest movements, he explained in an interview. Often, he says, these counter-demonstrations are seen through more discreet or latent messages.
“What’s different this time is that there are two groups that are absolutely competing for the public’s attention,” he said. They want the public on their side and they both completely believe they are right. »
“Resistance through expression”
Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) McGill is one of the organizations advocating for what it calls “resistance through expression.” In addition to holding demonstrations, the McGill University student group organized banner and poster making activities.
SPHR McGill organizer John Vogel, who designed some of the posters and graphics for the group’s social media channels, says he deploys visual media to “keep control of the popular narrative” and challenge pro-Israel narratives. He credits this work with helping generate what he says is “unprecedented student support on campus” for the Palestinian cause.
“Visual, eye-catching work,” Mr. Vogel argued in an interview, is “the main front on which we can fight for a narrative that supports Palestinian liberation.”
Shaping narratives is often the goal of protest movements’ communications strategies, McGarry said. Visual markers can also be a way for protesters to “affirm their belonging” in public spaces and spread messages of sympathy and solidarity with Israelis and Palestinians, he added.
These symbols can elicit emotional responses from the public, Mr. McGarry said. Images of victims or destruction, for example, “ [confrontent] people to the reality of something that happened very far away. And then the public ends up with this strong reaction.”
It’s also possible, he says, that such responses help spur the kind of animosity that leads to violence.
Montreal has seen an upsurge in acts targeting the Jewish and Muslim communities since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas last month. Police are investigating several incidents of nighttime shootings targeting Jewish schools, as well as incendiary devices that caused minor damage outside two Jewish institutions. There were no injuries during these events.
The National Council of Canadian Muslims says it has also received reports of racist graffiti and attacks against Muslim Montrealers, including several cases in which attackers ripped off women’s hijabs.
Leaders of the local Jewish and Muslim communities described an atmosphere of fear and anxiety. In Montreal and elsewhere, images linked to the war between Israel and Hamas have sometimes sparked strong reactions and debates.
Images of the hostages
When 16 metro stations were plastered with pro-Palestinian posters earlier this week, stating “genocide in Palestine, Canada complicit”, the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) first charged its brigade with hate crimes to investigate, but then transferred the case to the police unit that patrols the metro.
Thursday morning, the SPVM responded to a pro-Palestinian demonstration which blocked traffic on the Jacques-Cartier Bridge. Images circulating on social media show protesters holding large banners calling for a “free Palestine” and a ceasefire in Gaza.
Reports from several cities indicate the proliferation – then the shredding – of posters depicting the approximately 240 hostages captured by Hamas during its October 7 attack on Israel. The red and white posters have become one of the most recognizable signs of the Israeli cause.
Incidents in which individuals removed signs led authorities in Hampstead, a small town on the island of Montreal, to propose a by-law that would classify the removal of signs from public property as a nuisance and impose a fine of $1000 for a first offense and a fine of $2000 for a repeat offense.
Yair Szlak, president and CEO of Federation CJA, a Jewish association in Montreal, argued that removing the hostage posters amounted to the “cancellation” of human beings. “Jewish life is not important enough,” Mr. Szlak said in an interview. There are people tearing posters, which is the cruelest act [de faire disparaître] someone, which means life doesn’t matter. »
“I don’t see this as advocacy for Israel,” he said of the posters. This is what I would call a plea for humanity. »
Mr. Szlak asserted that narratives entirely blaming Israel for the deaths of civilians in the Gaza Strip, without acknowledging the actions of Hamas, incite anti-Semitic violence.
Mr. Vogel said that “pro-Palestinian art or expression only aggravates tensions as it forces people to address the Palestinian cause in their daily lives.”
Mr. McGarry described the competition between pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian protests as “a battle to win the hearts and minds of different layers of society.”
“Usually when you have a protest, it’s on one side or the other. And here, you have both sides quite strong, he clarified. I’ve never seen it like this before. »