Both Justin Trudeau and Pierre Poilievre have condemned anti-Israel protesters in Ottawa who were recorded cheering in favour of the Oct. 7 massacres.
The demonstrators, waving Palestinian flags and wearing keffiyehs, also sang the “from the river to the sea” chant that various Jewish organizations say is a call for genocide.
At the rally on Saturday, a man using a loudspeaker outside Parliament said the mass murder of civilians in Israel on Oct. 7 “is proof that we are almost free.”
He added: “Long live Oct. 7. Long live the resistance. Long live the intifada.”
"October 7th is proof that we are almost free. Long live the resistance, long live the intifada."
— Dacey Media (@chrisdacey) April 20, 2024
Anti-Israel demonstrators on Wellington St set off smoke grenades, make reference to October 7th terrorist attacks on Israel and call for intifada, all in front of @OttawaPolice. pic.twitter.com/0RcIVVNFOb
More than 1,200 people were slaughtered by Islamic extremists in southern Israel on Oct. 7 last year, while hundreds more were kidnapped and taken as hostages to Gaza.
International observers, including the UN, have said the Hamas terrorists and their accomplices also raped women during the atrocity, in which Jews were targeted.
“There is a difference between peaceful protest and hateful intimidation,” Trudeau wrote on X today.
“It is unconscionable to glorify the antisemitic violence and murder perpetrated by Hamas on October 7th. This rhetoric has no place in Canada. None.”
I condemn these pro-genocide, anti-semitic chants.
— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) April 21, 2024
We stand with Jews in Canada and around the world against these malicious words and deeds. pic.twitter.com/bdBUkluXQP
Poilievre, meanwhile, said the chants were “pro-genocide” and “anti-semitic.”
“We stand with Jews in Canada and around the world against these malicious words and deeds,” he added.
Both leaders also wrote Passover messages for Jews. The holiday begins this evening.
Ottawa Police said its “Hate and Bias Crime Unit” is investigating “an allegation of hate speech” linked to the demonstration.
There is a difference between peaceful protest and hateful intimidation.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) April 21, 2024
It is unconscionable to glorify the antisemitic violence and murder perpetrated by Hamas on October 7th. This rhetoric has no place in Canada. None.
Dozens of such anti-Israel rallies have been held across Canada since Hamas started the war on Oct. 7.
Vancouver Police Department said in January that the war had led to a 62 per cent increase in reports of anti-Semitic incidents in 2023.
Kelowna RCMP told KelownaNow in January that despite pro-Palestine protests occurring in the city since the war began, no connected hate incidents have been reported.
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