Trudeau condemns violent Montreal protest over antisemitism and burning of Netanyahu effigy

(JTA) — Justin Trudeau said Canada’s government would not tolerate antisemitism after a violent pro-Palestinian demonstration in Montreal where protesters burned Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in effigy.

The Canadian prime minister was one of several officials who condemned the protest, which opposed a NATO conference on Friday night, after which three protesters were arrested. It was one of a series of anti-Israel actions in recent days that have led to fallout in the Quebec metropolis, from the shuttering of a cafe in the city’s Jewish General Hospital to the cancelation of an Israeli-made film at a local festival.

“What we saw on the streets of Montreal last night was appalling,” Trudeau said in a statement on Saturday. “Acts of antisemitism, intimidation, and violence must be condemned wherever we see them.”

The demonstrators, many of whom came from student groups, protested the Western military alliance due to members’ support for Israel in its multi-front war. According to Canadian media reports, demonstrators smashed windows, burnt vehicles, attacked police officers, and set off smoke bombs and fireworks during the protest.

Attendees could be seen waving Palestinian, Lebanese, and Iranian flags, as well as one with the hammer and sickle, a communist symbol. Some protesters held a banner reading “intifada” in Arabic, a reference to violent Palestinian uprisings against Israel.

At one point, a group of protesters burned an effigy bearing the words “Netanyahu to the Hague,” a reference to the recent warrant for Netanyahu’s arrest issued by the International Criminal Court. Canada is one of several countries that confirmed that it would arrest Netanyahu based on the warrant.

Protests spark condemnation over violence

“This was nothing like lawful, peaceful protest,” said Bill Blair, Canada’s defense minister, at a conference in Halifax, Nova Scotia. “This was anarchy. It was an engagement in violence and hatred on display in the city of Montreal.”

He added, “Those behaviors are unacceptable, and we condemn them, and in particular the hatred and antisemitism that was on display, in the strongest possible terms.”

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, an umbrella Jewish Canadian body, called Friday’s protest “a terrifying display of violence, hate, and anarchy” and called on Canada’s leaders to do more to fight antisemitism.

The group said in a statement, “Fires were lit, businesses vandalized, and Jewish Canadians once again felt unsafe in their own country. Our political leaders need to stop excusing extremism. Police must enforce the law. And all Canadians must take antisemitism seriously—NOW.”

Friday’s demonstration came one day after a participant in another anti-Israel demonstration was filmed saying, “Final Solution is coming your way, the Final Solution.” The term “Final Solution” was the Nazi euphemism for the Holocaust.

The protester in question was later identified as the owner of two franchises of Second Cup, a Canadian coffee chain located at Montreal’s Jewish General Hospital. The company said in a statement that it is closing those locations and terminating the owner’s contract. It will continue paying staff and plans to reopen under new management, according to the CBC.

“Second Cup has zero tolerance for hate speech,” the company’s statement said. “This franchisee’s actions are not only a breach of our franchise agreement, but they also violate the values of inclusion and community we stand for at Second Cup.”

In a statement, Deborah Lipstadt, the U.S. State Department’s antisemitism envoy and a Holocaust historian, condemned the “Final Solution” comments and added, “The antisemitic rhetoric that fueled the anti-NATO riots in Montreal sends a clear signal. Jew hatred incites violence, disrupts national security, and erodes democracy.”

Elsewhere in Montreal, RIDM, a documentary film festival, canceled the screenings of an Israeli filmmaker’s movie due to pro-Palestinian protests. The film by Israeli-Canadian Danae Elon, “Rule of Stone,” takes a critical lens on Israeli policy. According to a description on the festival website, the film focuses on Jerusalem stone, which is used as the facade for buildings in the Israeli capital. It examines “the erasure of Palestinian history and the gradual exclusion of its people” and “reveals the contrasts and often invisible violence of its buildings and architecture.”

But the festival has announced that two screenings scheduled for later this week have been canceled. The statement said Elon had withdrawn the film following “consultations by RIDM with all concerned parties” and that the festival would change its submission criteria.

“Danae Elon is an Israeli-Canadian filmmaker whose films have been accompanied by RIDM, and we recognize her personal commitment to criticizing and questioning the state of Israel,” the festival’s statement said. “However, the film’s inclusion in our programming has disrupted our relationships with important partners, including members of the community actively supporting the Palestinian people.”

The festival is the second Canadian cultural event this month to draw pro-Palestinian protest. Last week, the Giller Prize, a prestigious literary award, was given amid a boycott by authors protesting its sponsors’ ties to Israel.

In Toronto over the weekend, a small pro-Palestinian protest featured, according to critics who shared photos on social media, a demonstrator dressed as Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in the moments before an Israeli soldier killed him and someone holding a sign reading “Free flights to Amsterdam,” an apparent allusion to the attacks on Israeli soccer fans that took place there earlier this month. A Jewish political pundit was reportedly arrested after he refused police instructions to leave the scene.