Montreal: Protesters say 'fake' Jews have no home, colonized Germany

Pro-Palestinian protesters hurled antisemitic and sexist abuse at Jewish counterprotesters at an antizionist Jewish-led demonstration against an Israeli real estate exposition at the Spanish & Portuguese Synagogue of Montreal on Tuesday night.

During an Instagram live video posted by Montreal 4 Palestine, a masked anti-Israel protest leader shouted multiple times at the Canadian Jews in front of the synagogue, "You don't even have a country."

"Every single one of you is a settler in Palestine. You're a settler here because half of you are either from Poland or Romania, or Germany or Morocco or Tunisia or Iraq. You guys can't even be claiming your own country, so you want to claim Palestine," said the protest leader. "You guys tried to oppress and colonize South Africa and Germany because one thing is granted. Every tree and rock you guys will touch will surely be free."

The protesters repeatedly alleged that the counterprotesters waving Israeli flags were not real Jews, claiming that they were irreligious and hated that "god is greater." The protest leader then led chants of "Takbir" and "Allah Akbar."

"You do not understand Judaism, and I promise you if I came to you one by one, 80% of you are Atheists," said a protest leader. "80% of you don't even believe in a god."

Dismissing Israeli's Jewish identity

In a video shared by Palestinian Youth Movement Montreal, another masked man exclaimed, "You guys, all of you are the fake Jewish [sic]."

"This is the true Jewish," he continued, referring to Independent Jewish Voices activist Sarah Boivin. "What you just heard is the real voice of Jewish."

The protesters repeatedly said that they had Jews, Christians, and Muslims in their camp.

"I hope you will see me. I hope you will see that there are different ways to be Jewish," said Boivin." We will reclaim Judaism from colonialism and fight for justice."

IJV organized the protest against an event for real estate in Israeli cities and towns, including some beyond the Green Line, like Neve Daniel and Efrat. The antizionist group said that while the event was being held at a synagogue, it was not a religious event and was legitimate to protest. At one point, an IJV member entered the synagogue to disrupt the event, shouting that they were committing ethnic cleansing. They complained that they were aggressively pushed out of the building.

"We asked the synagogue to cancel this event selling illegal, stolen land," Boivin said. "There will be no stolen land in our synagogues being sold."

While the protest was against the sale of land beyond the 1949 armistice line, the protesters repeatedly called for the destruction of the state of Israel and the expulsion of Israelis. After Boivin spoke, protesters chanted, "Judaism yes, Zionism no, the state called Israel must go."

"After 75 years, all of you are finally going to get kicked out of Palestine," a protest leader said in the Montreal 4 Palestine video. "Israel will be dismantled very soon, and all of you will be settlers looking for a place to take, just like when you came to Palestine."

The masked protester repeatedly indicated that he believed that there was a curse in which no Jewish state could last for longer than 80 years.

"Yeah, I Am Yisrael Chai motherfuckers, but not for that long, just like in the past, you guys can't make it past 80 years," he said. "It's about time Israel is taken out of the Middle East, and peace can return."

Protesters developed their chant to include cities

The protesters often expanded on their chant, "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," detailing that it meant controlling every inch of what is now Israel, listing Israeli cities that would fall under their control, such as Haifa and Tel Aviv.

"Palestine is Arab," the protesters chanted in Arabic.

One activist said in a PYM video, "The brave people of Gaza aren't just fighting for an end to this genocide; they are not just fighting to liberate their land from the river to the sea; they are fighting to liberate the entire world from this fascist process."

One of the protest leaders repeatedly called over to Jewish women in the crowd and chastised them for not covering their heads and dancing. When one woman tried to respond to the abuse he was hurling to the pro-Israel crowd, he told her to shut up and said that the woman should go to the back and "bring the men up front if you have any."

The crowd engaged in violent rhetoric several times, including chanting, "Long live the intifada," "Long live the resistance," and "No peace on stolen land."  

"Do you think that you're going to have a day of peace, a day of happiness, after what you've done in Gaza? The whole world will rise against you," said a masked woman.

Later in the night, another woman said to the crowd, "The Zionist state wants us to think we have been defeated, and they think that they can win this war, but they don't know what they are up against because millions across the world will fight, will organize."

She led the crowd in chants, declaring them revolutionaries and telling them to dedicate their lives and sacrifices for liberation.

One of the protesters called the Israel supporters "coward" for hiding behind police and said that if law enforcement weren't there, they wouldn't "have shown their face." He said they cried about "safety and antisemitism" to get the police presence.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and Federation CJA said Wednesday that following the protests at the Jewish Community Foundation and Montreal Holocaust Museum on Monday, the protesters were issued an injunction to stay 50 meters away from Jewish community institutions.

"Today, the SPVM [Montreal Police] was out in full force to ensure effective buffer zones, access to institutions, and the safety of our community.

Mount Royal MP Anthony Housefather said the day before the protests that they were inappropriate and unacceptable.