Canadians rally for Israel

Pro-Israel supporters in Toronto. [IGAL HECHT PHOTO]

As the current conflict between Israel and Hamas rages on, Jews and Israel supporters in Canada are feeling the ripple effects.

Numerous anti-Israel rallies being held across the country have resulted in assaults against Jews and pro-Israelis.

In Calgary, at the July 18 protest in front of City Hall, hundreds of pro-Palestinians rallied in support of Gazans.

Judy Shapiro, associate executive director of the Calgary Jewish Federation, who attended the rally as an observer, said violence erupted when a group of less than 10 pro-Israel demonstrators stood at the edge of the growing Palestinian crowd waving Israeli flags.

“It appeared to me that they were walking toward the pro-Palestinians, but before they reached the people, a huge crowd, maybe 30 people, crossed over from the demonstration to the other side of the street and literally swarmed them. They surrounded them. They were up against a building, so there was nowhere to go, and they were beaten up.”

She said one person suffered a concussion, another was punched in the face, another suffered a broken nose, and a woman was punched in the stomach.

“It was ugly,” she said.

Jake Birrell, a 20-year-old Mount Royal University student who came to the protest in support of Israel, was attacked but declined to comment to The CJN, heeding the advice of his lawyers.

Shapiro said police weren’t present at the start of the rally when the violence broke out.

“I had warned them that there was a potential. I had heard people were going down to counter protest and I warned the police,” she said.

Calgary Police Service spokesperson Kevin Brookwell said they meant to be there.

“To sum it up, we dropped the ball… A simple thing like an email was missed… which means that the officers who were supposed to be assigned to that event were not there, but there were other officers close by that were able to respond quickly.”

He said police are investigating allegations of violence at the rally, which was organized by Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) and Justice for Palestinians, but no charges have been laid.

Last Friday, July 25, another protest organized by the same groups was held, attracting roughly 700 pro-Palestinian and 100 pro-Israeli ralliers, Shapiro said.

SPHR president and University of Calgary student Ala’a Hamdan said the plan is to demonstrate in front of City Hall weekly until the war is over, adding that she asked for police presence for the July 25 event.

“This time around, we are making arrangements for them to show up extra early so that they will have a clear presence and deter anyone away from engaging in clashes,” she said in advance of the most recent rally.

Shapiro said the July 25 rally had a “huge police presence,” and there were no incidents of violence.

On July 23, more than 200 people attended a pro-Israel rally at the Calgary Jewish Community Centre. A man who is well-known to police tried to enter the event carrying a concealed air gun that was discovered during a security check.

The man was arrested and is being charged with possessing a weapon dangerous to public peace. Police said he acted alone and wasn’t related to last week’s clash, Canadian Press reported.

Meanwhile, B’nai Brith Canada is reporting a number of violent incidents involving Jews across the country.

“There are… reports that pro-Israel demonstrators in Ottawa were told by police to leave, since their safety could not be guaranteed,” said Frank Dimant, B’nai Brith Canada’s CEO.

“In Montreal alone we have seen the effects of anti-Israel fervor which have resulted in attacks on Jews, be it a Jewish visitor punched in the face outside a kosher restaurant, a chassidic woman slapped in the face by a man riding a bike, a Jewish boy threatened by a neighbour as he walked by their porch commanding his dog to ‘get the Jew’ and a Jewish woman protester shoved to the ground.” 

Montreal police are investigating a possible hate crime in which a Jewish man, a French tourist, was punched in the face as he walked out of a kosher restaurant on Queen Mary Road on Monday, CTV News reported.

He was talking to his sister about Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu when a man punched him, leaving him with a concussion and a fractured cheekbone.

Canadian Press reported that in Montreal last week, during a protest that saw hundreds of people march through the north end of the city to protest Israeli attacks on Hamas, a woman who waved a small Israeli flag was confronted by a man who tried to rip the flag out of her hand, causing her to lose her balance.

But reports of increased anti-Semitic activity aren’t keeping Jews and Israel supporters from showing their support.

In Montreal, about 3,000 people came out to a July 21 rally organized by Montreal’s Federation CJA and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.

The Stephen Harper government was represented by Pierre Poilievre, minister of state for democratic reform and MP for the Ontario riding of Nepean-Carleton.

“You can’t establish an equivalence between a great liberal democracy, Israel, which absolutely must defend its citizens against violent rocket attacks, and a terrorist organization, Hamas, which has not ceased to sow chaos and destruction,” Poilievre said.

“One hundred per cent of the blame is attributable to Hamas. Israel uses its weapons to protect its civilians while Hamas uses its civilians to protect its weapons.”

In Winnipeg, the Jewish community held two pro-Israel rallies July 21, which also attracted members of the Sikh, Hindu, and evangelical Christian communities.

The first demonstration, held late in the afternoon, attracted about 250 people and was held in front of the CN Rail station in the heart of downtown and finished in front of the soon-to-be opened Canadian Museum for Human Rights.

The evening rally in the gymnasium at the Asper Jewish Community Campus, drew a standing-room-only crowd of close to 700.

“We had a huge number of supporters,” said Shelly Faintuch, one of the organizers of the rally.

“The turnout was much higher than we anticipated. It was gratifying to see so many people who wanted to show their support for Israel.”

About 200 people gathered at Shaar Shalom Synagogue in Halifax July 23 for a rally organized by the Atlantic Jewish Council.

Following messages of support from Canadian government officials, Baptist minister Clyde Lowe of Aylesford, N.S., took to the podium to offer his support to the Jewish state.

“I love the Jews,” he said. “Our church supports Israel and the Jewish People,” Rev. Lowe said. “Every Sunday, we pray for Israel. We support you because we love you.”

In Vancouver on Sunday, close to 800 people gathered at Temple Sholom to stand in solidarity with Israel.

Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver spokesperson Valder Belgrave said that one of the speakers, Farid Rohani, a social activist and board member of the Laurier Institution, an organization that promotes Canadian diversity, said Israel is losing the public relations war.

Rohani said media coverage is remarkably lopsided and that “remaining quiet is a disservice not only to the values that we share as Canadians, but to order and what is right.” 

Last week, 20 Diller Teen Fellows,  – participants in UJA Federation of Greater Toronto’s leadership development program for Jewish teens – landed in Israel.

While several groups from other North American cities cancelled trips because their host communities in Israel were too affected by the war, or because of travel advisories or fear, the group from Toronto arrived safely in Eilat.

Sabrina Craig, 17, is participating in the program for the second time, this year as a junior counsellor.

“In my life, I was taught that if I really care about something or someone I should be there during the good and the bad,” Crag said from Israel. “If I wasn’t here, I would not have met the courageous people that live there to spread more light in the face of darkness. I am very proud to be part of a community that has chosen to send more light and to stand with Israel.”

In response to the annual Al-Quds Day rally in Toronto’s Queen’s Park on July 26, the Jewish Defence League attended to counter-protest against the anti-Israel messages.

After last year’s event, Toronto police launched a hate crimes investigation into comments made by the former head of Palestine House, who called for the widespread murder of Israelis.

On Sunday, a group called Canadians for Israel rallied at Queen’s Park in solidarity with Israelis under attack by Hamas.

DEMONSTRATORS IN WINNIPEG. [MYRON LOVE PHOTO]

Canadian Jews have also pledged to provide financial support to Israel as the state continues to fight a war that’s reportedly costing the Israeli government $32 million a day.

North American federations have increased their commitment of $10 million for Israel to $30 million, with Toronto’s federation pledging $2.25 million to the cause.

The money will go toward trauma counselling for Israelis, strengthening communities in Israel’s south with more equipment for shelters, portable shelters, situation rooms, and communications equipment; bolstering the work of local community volunteers and NGOs; respite for frontline professionals and volunteers; training front-line responders for emergency situations; emergency health care for hospitals in the south; and post-war recovery.

“We have already raised $940,000 towards our share of North American Jewry’s collective target and all cash received as of this past Monday has already been transferred to our partners in Israel to deal with immediate needs,” the Toronto federation said.

With files from Elias Levy in Montreal, Joel Jacobson in Halifax and Myron Love in Winnipeg.

 

MONTREALERS RALLY FOR ISRAEL. [ELIAS LEVY PHOTO]