Canadian Jewish organization CJA said, ‘The protests we’ve decried for weeks have escalated into a hate mob targeting Jewish institutions.’
By Vered Weiss, World Israel News
A group of Pro-Palestinian activists aggressively harassed those attending an Israel event at Montreal’s Holocaust Memorial on Monday.
Attendees reported hundreds of “aggressive and physically intimidating” protestors gathered in front of the CJA building and Holocaust Museum, blocking attendees from entering or leaving.
Despite harassment from the mob, the event continued as planned.
Police arrived on the scene and according to some accounts began scuffling and using pepper spray against violent protestors.
Lawyers 4 Palestine blamed police actions on racism, and posted on social media, “The [Montreal police] officers, all of whom were white, adopted a hostile and threatening attitude towards the Palestinian activists, clearly discriminating against them compared to the Israeli supporters, who were also white and present.”
Canadian Jewish organization CJA said, ‘The protests we’ve decried for weeks have escalated into a hate mob targeting Jewish institutions.’
The event was sponsored by CJA, Montreal’s central Jewish community organization, and was called, “Israeli Perspective: Coming to Life.”
It featured three IDF reservists, Nir Yosef, Ori Itzhaki and Aby Volcovich, and was designed to fight against the “delegitimization of Israel” with several evenings scheduled across Canada.
The event was originally planned to take place at Concordia University, but was canceled due to “security concerns.”
Concordia University Hillel called the cancellation a function of “the BDS movement in Montreal.”
Start Up Nation, one of the organizers of the event, said of the cancellation, “Concordia University says: ‘Israelis not welcome,’ … This is absolute discrimination.”
Concerning the harassment attendees experienced from protestors, the CJA said in a statement, that the incident was “not about political views or a foreign conflict; it’s an intentional intimidation of Jewish Montrealers.”
The CJA continued, “The protests we’ve decried for weeks have escalated into a hate mob targeting Jewish institutions.”
The statement continued, “Calling for intifada, terrorism against civilians, is not a peaceful protest. The time for condemnation is over. Jews must be able to gather without the need for protection.”