A thousand pro-Palestinian demonstrators came from across Quebec to march through downtown Montreal on Saturday afternoon.
Palestinian flags and signs in hand, the demonstrators gathered to commemorate the 76th anniversary of the Nakba, the name which designates the forced exodus of Palestinians during the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.
The crowd first gathered in front of the Israeli consulate general in Montreal before storming the streets of the city center, under the curious gaze of passers-by. “Gaza, Montreal is with you!” », Proclaimed the demonstrators, who also demanded an immediate ceasefire, the withdrawal of troops from the Gaza Strip, as well as the severing of all ties between Canada and Israel.
On the sidelines of the demonstration, Zeyad, a spokesperson for Concordia’s Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) group, said he was encouraged by the large number of demonstrators who came to encourage the pro-Palestinian cause on Saturday. “The support is enormous. […] It gives us a lot of motivation.”
According to Zeyad, such citizen mobilization represents “another stage, another stopover in this movement which has grown enormously in recent months”.
We won’t stop until our demands are heard
Zeyad, spokesperson for Concordia SPHR
The demonstrators ended their route in front of the McGill University campus, where spokespersons delivered speeches in support of the pro-Palestinian student encampment that has been set up there for two weeks.
A multigenerational movement
Different generations rubbed shoulders during the demonstration, which took place peacefully.
Frederick Jones, 78, was too horrified by the images of Gaza he saw on television to stay at home. “I read about what happened to the Palestinians in 1948, and I see that we are doing the same thing again,” said the retiree, who demonstrated with his 81-year-old wife.
“It is not a war against Hamas that Israel is waging, it is a war against the people,” added the one who marched in the name of the Palestinians and Jews United (PAJU) organization.
Sign in hand, Oscar Carillo paraded alongside his nine-year-old daughter. “I am here in solidarity with my Palestinian brothers and sisters, who are undergoing genocide,” said the demonstrator, who has participated in several other demonstrations since October 7, the date of the start of the war between Israel and the Hamas. “I walk for peace,” added the father.
The protest was organized by the groups Palestinian Youth Movement, Lawyers 4 Palestine, Health Workers Alliance for Palestine, PalestineQuebec and Labor 4 Palestine.