Anger, sadness and solidarity as Montrealers mark first anniversary of Israel-Hamas war

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Tensions were high and police presence heavy in downtown Montreal on Monday, as Montrealers on both sides of the Middle East conflict gathered to mark the first anniversary of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel and the beginning of Israel’s retaliation.

Student Unity Vigil

Shortly after noon, hundreds of members of Montreal’s Jewish community gathered for a “Student Unity Vigil” outside McGill University’s Roddick Gates, many waving Israeli flags.

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Sherbrooke St. had been closed to traffic between University and Metcalfe Sts. as hundreds of police officers patrolled downtown, with a particularly heavy presence at McGill, a focal point of protests for the past year.

The vigil, one of two commemorative events organized by the Federation CJA, a local philanthropic organization, with assistance from the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, began with a moment of silence at around 12:30 p.m. at the university’s main entrance. This was followed by prayers to remember the victims of what speakers called “the deadliest day for Jewish people since the Holocaust.”

Participant Zev Wood, a first-year student at McGill, said he was feeling a “mix of emotions.”

“It’s a very sombre day,” Wood, 20, said.  “One year ago, 1,200 people lost their lives. But it’s nice to look around and see all of the different community members, non-Jews and Jews standing together. It is uplifting in a way.”

Rabbi Shmuly Weiss of Chabad McGill spoke of the importance of the Jewish community continuing to stand together, while other speakers encouraged Jewish students to “be proud of your identity”.

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The crowd sang Hatikvah, the Israeli national anthem and many also chanted “Bring them home” in reference to the dozens of hostages taken on Oct. 7, 2023 and who are still missing.

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Pro-Palestinian student rally

A few blocks away, hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters gathered in front of Concordia’s Hall Building, responding to a call by Concordia and McGill chapters of Students for Palestine’s Honour and Resistance (SPHR). Those groups had called on CEGEP and university students to walk out of classes at 2 p.m. to call attention to the tens of thousands of Palestinian lives lost since the conflict began.

Since Israel declared war on Hamas, more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health authority. Just over half of the dead were women and children, according to the Associated Press.

Samar Alkhdour, a Palestinian whose 13-year-old daughter died in Gaza in January, said she attended the march to denounce what she described as a genocide.

“It’s really important for me to be here with the student movement, to join them, to tell the whole world that it’s been a year of the genocide,” she told The Gazette. “It’s insane. That should have been stopped months ago. It should have not been happening. … For me, it’s so dystopian that people are living their lives and going (about) their lives and a genocide is happening live on the other side of the planet.”

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She said the Canadian government should “take action against Israel.”

In September, Alkhdour was charged with criminal harassment of federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller after attending several sit-ins outside his office. Alkhdour said anyone put in her position would understand her grief, anger and frustration.

Some Jewish Montrealers, including Zev Saltiel, attended the pro-Palestinian event.

“I’m … surprised that there is still this amount of pushback from the Jewish community and denial from the Jewish community of this ongoing genocide,” said Saltiel, a member of Independent Jewish Voices who is taking a break from studies at McGill because of its investment ties to Israel.

“It is at the point now where there is so much evidence, it has been live-streamed for a year,” Saltiel said. “It has been investigated by international courts. It has been looked at by the UN. It is across the board recognized now as a genocide and yet, still, Jewish people are obsessed with this 1,200 people were killed and hostages were taken.”

Police officers blocked de Maisonneuve Blvd. near the Hall Building and formed a barricade along MacKay and Bishops Sts.. By 3:30 p.m. they had managed to keep the two groups apart.

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In the afternoon, Montreal police said pro-Palestinian protesters threw paint, sprayed graffiti and broke windows on Pins Ave. Spokesperson Manuel Couture said confirmed they deployed tear gas to control the crowd.

He said there were no other incidents and the tear gas did not result in any injuries.

McGill condemned the large group of protesters that “travelled to campus from outside McGill and resorted to violent and disruptive activities.”

The university also said it has a report that a security guard was assaulted.

In an email to the McGill community Monday night, the university said protesters “breached fences to access the lower downtown campus; on a street outside of lower campus, protesters also carried out acts of vandalism on a McGill building that is currently being renovated.”

Police “had a substantial presence on site and our campus safety was maintained. Thanks to the combined efforts of (Montreal police), McGill security, and many others within and outside the university community, as well as the measures pre-emptively put in place, the disruption caused was temporary.”

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The university said it will keep security measures in place Tuesday. For example, its campuses will be open only to current students and employees with a McGill ID, as well as essential visitors with a letter of entry.

Montreal4Palestine rally

Waving Palestinian flags and clad in keffiyeh scarves, more than 1,000 protesters took part in an evening march organized by Montreal4Palestine, from Place des Arts through downtown, with police accompaniment.

“The genocide has to stop,” said Lilah Woods, a Jewish Montrealer singer-songwriter holding a banner reading “Jews for Palestine. Condemn Supremacy.”

She added: “If we don’t come together and say something and convince our governments to act, what are we as human beings?”

Woods called for an end to the war, and for Palestinian refugees to be allowed to return to their homelands.

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Fatimah Nabizadah, a 22-year-old Concordia student whose parents are from Afghanistan, said the Israel-Palestinian hostilities have been part of her life her entire existence.

“It’s been 75 years that this has been going on. We discuss it as a family often, and I see it in the news all the time,” she said, holding a Bristol-board timeline outlining some of the major events of the hostilities.

“This is an occupation conducted against the Palestinian people,” she said.

Memorial in Hampstead

Meanwhile, in Hampstead Park, people draped in Israeli flags and yellow ribbon pins streamed into a large tent to “mourn together, and honour and remember the victims, survivors and heroes of Oct. 7,” in the words of organizer Federation CJA.

Amy Dessaulles told The Gazette she felt a responsibility to attend as the granddaughter of two Holocaust survivors.

“I remember them and I can’t believe this is happening again.”

She added: “The more we come together… the more we can combat the propaganda that’s everywhere.”

Talia Edwy said she came “to commemorate the brutal atrocities that Hamas committed, to remember the fallen, those still fighting and those that have been abducted.”

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David Spinner said: “Being part of the Jewish community, having been to Israel, it’s my duty to be supportive. Bring the hostages home.”

Organizers said they expected 4,000 people to attend.

The event took place under high security, with Montreal police and a provincial police riot squad on site.

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Israeli Consul General Paul Hirshson addressed the crowd.

“It’s been a long year, 101 family members remain hostage in Gaza because of the evil that came calling on Oct. 7,” he said.

Hirshson criticized Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante for not calling the family of Alexandre Look, a Montrealer killed in the Oct. 7 attack and the Canadian federal government for “indirectly rewarding terror” by not taking a stronger stance in favour of Israel.

He thanked the Quebec government, which went forward with its office in Tel Aviv after the beginning of the war and thanked provincial ministers Benoit Charette and Pascale Déry for attending the event.

“Their support has been superb,” he said.

Hirshson, who has not seen his son since he reported for military duty nearly a year ago, added: “We’re finished being victims in Israel and in Montreal, too.”

Steve Sebag, chair of Federation CJA’s board, read out the names of Canadians killed on Oct. 7, including Alexandre Look, “who died a hero” defending others.

“Israel is leading the free world,” Sebag said. “Israel is sacrificing its best and brightest to defend universal values and taking criticism for doing what every Western democracy wishes it had the courage to do.”

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Raquel Look, mother of Alexandre Look, also spoke.

She said the tears still come but Alexandre’s death has pushed her to work for his values and she has a “profound commitment to eradicating hate and antisemitism.”

In an interview earlier, Yair Szlak, the president of Federation CJA, said the event was “an evening of mourning for the Jewish community in Montreal, a year has passed since the unspeakable massacre of Jews in southern Israel.”

Since the beginning of the war, there has also been a massive rise in antisemitism, he said.

“None of us have had the time to just step back and say we’re mourning, we’re crying, we’re sad. We lost 1,685 people since Oct. 7,” adding that for a small country like Israel, “that’s a huge number of citizens that have been lost.”

“Tonight is about mourning, it’s about remembering those that were lost, about giving the respect to what’s happened and then trying to move forward,” Szlak said.

There were no incidents at or around the event, amid heavy security.

Security high

Security had been very high at McGill on Monday, and to a lesser extent, Concordia. Some classes had been moved online. A perimeter of McGill campus was lined with police cars and buses along Sherbrooke, University and McTavish Sts. One officer told The Gazette that 500 officers were involved in the operation.

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Every entry point to McGill’s downtown campus was enclosed in wire fences, including the main Roddick Gates entrance on Sherbrooke. Students had to show ID to enter the campus and again before they were allowed into university buildings, where security guards were stationed. Police on horseback and officers in riot gear patrolled the campus.

Some said the police presence at and around McGill was excessive.

“It just feels very over the top,” said student Patrick Brennan, who had to take a detour to get to his sociology class. “We all have exams right now, and I have one. That’s the only reason I’m on campus,” he said, adding the heightened police presence is “not a great feeling for the nerves.”

But the Montreal police service had announced ahead of time its intention to be present and visible for the anniversary, with additional officers on duty, including some in plainclothes. Surveillance was stepped up around Jewish and Arab/Muslim institutions as well as universities.

“We want the public to know we are aware of their concerns and taking them seriously,” said assistant police director Vincent Richer.

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