Montreal: Anti-Israel protesters trap patrons inside Jewish-owned bookstore

The Indigo chain was targeted nationwide because the owners are a prominent pro-Israel family.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Anti-Israel protesters locked patrons inside a Montreal bookstore during nationwide protests against the Jewish-owned chain Sunday, leading to calls for police action.

As seen on HonestReporting Canada’s X channel, activists filled the Indigo Books & Music franchise within the Place Montreal Trust shopping mall, banging drums and waving Palestinian flags and signs vilifying Indigo’s founder for her support of the IDF.

Owner Heather Reisman is the founder of the HESEG Foundation for Lone Soldiers together with her husband, Gerald Schwartz. The charity group was formed in 2005 to provide scholarships for college education and concurrent living expenses to former lone soldiers who have completed their service in the IDF.

Palestinian supporters have painted all IDF soldiers as war criminals since Israel began fighting Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, following the terrorists’ massacre of 1,200 and kidnapping of 251 people in a surprise invasion from the Gaza Strip.

Canadian Jewish media outlet TheJ.ca reported that after disrupting the store’s functioning by chanting slogans through loudspeakers and demanding that shoppers boycott the chain, the doors were closed and a U-lock was slipped through the handles, preventing anyone from leaving for “a short period.”

In a picture making the rounds on social media, two large Palestinian flags can be seen on either side of the locked doors.

The Canadian group AllFactsNoHate called for the authorities to act quickly, as what the protesters did broke several laws.

“Beyond being reckless, this constitutes forcible confinement under Canada’s Criminal Code and is considered mischief and violates fire safety laws,” the activists against antisemitism said on their Instagram page.

“Protest is legal, imprisoning people against their will is not. We expect a response from Montreal Police – and so should you.”

The video itself showed half a dozen black-uniformed policemen just standing and watching the crowd in the store.

“Would love to know the rationale @spvm [Montreal police] used to not clear out disruptive pro-Palestinian thugs at the Indigo book store at Montreal Place Trust,” HonestReporting commented above the clip. “Because let’s be honest—if it had been any other group, the place would’ve been cleared out in minutes.”

Over 50 Indigo stores in Canada were targeted by the anti-Israel activists in what they called a “Day of Action.”

It was the latest in a string of protests and acts of vandalism against the chain since the war began, with organizers accusing Reisman and Schwartz of complicity in genocide by supposedly directing almost $200 million in Indigo profits into their foundation.

HESEG awards about 70 scholarships each year to lone soldiers and runs activities and workshops for current recipients and graduates throughout the year.