More than a hundred people gathered Friday afternoon in front of the Montreal offices of Prime Minister François Legault to denounce Israel’s siege of the Gaza Strip and to demand an end to Israeli strikes in the enclave.
Present at the event were the group Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) from McGill University, as well as Independent Jewish Voices – Montreal, whose representatives undertook a sit-ins blocking access to the Prime Minister’s office. “We are here to demand an end to the genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza,” said Scott Weinstein bluntly.
Many of the signs read messages such as “Palestinian security = Jewish security,” “Legault, you have blood on your hands” and “Lift the siege on Gaza.” On several occasions, the crowd chanted slogans demanding the liberation of Palestine or denouncing the “complicity” of Prime Ministers Justin Trudeau and François Legault, President Joe Biden or even McGill University itself.
PHOTO JOSIE DESMARAIS, THE PRESS
SPHR criticizes the administration of the establishment for wanting to remove the word “McGill” from the name of the association. “By acting in this way, she makes herself complicit in Israel’s crimes,” said a demonstrator who preferred to withhold her name for fear of reprisals. In its call to demonstrate published the day before on its Facebook page, SPHR also criticizes McGill University for supporting the “Zionist State of Israel” rather than offering support to its Palestinian students and their allies.
“This undemocratic suppression of Palestinian voices is unacceptable,” we read.
Many motorists traveling on Sherbrooke West Street offered a concert of horns to the demonstrators. The demonstration took place under police surveillance, but no incident was reported during the passage of The Press.
More details will follow.