Montreal Police Chief Fadi Dagher said On Saturday, it was announced that at least three people had been arrested during Friday's violent pro-Palestinian, anti-NATO and anti-Semitic protests downtown, and that more arrests were likely.
On Friday, protesters engaged in an orgy of hate and vandalism in downtown Montreal, vandalizing buildings, throwing projectiles at police and setting at least two vehicles on fire. people arrested Contains A 22-year-old woman who assaulted a police officer and two men, ages 22 and 28, were charged with “obstructing police operations.”
The protests were organized by two extremist groups, Divest for Palestine and the anti-capitalist group CLAC, and were ostensibly part of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) conference held in Montreal from Friday to Monday. The purpose was to criticize.
Divest for Palestine spokesman Benoît Arard said the group's aim was NATO's “collusion with Israeli forces” in committing “genocide” in Gaza and “war crimes” in Lebanon and Syria. He said it was a demonstration against the
“It's not good to use money from our pension funds to invest in companies that arm the state of Israel and are used to kill Palestinians,” Allard said.
“If we don't want anger, we have to address the root cause. The root cause of this anger is injustice. Without justice, there can be no peace. “It is rooted in solidarity with the people,” he said.
Allard insists violent protests are not inherently “anti-Semitic” and Chief Dugger will level accusations of hate crimes and anti-Semitism until a more thorough investigation is conducted. I bent backwards to avoid it.
“I see no correlation to yesterday's actions, whether they were anti-Semitic or not,” Duggar said Saturday, insisting only that the “rioters” were “responsible” for their actions. did. He said police had identified several more people who committed vandalism and assaulted police officers.
Dugger said about 800 people took part in the protests, but only “20 to 40” of them were involved in violent acts.
Sunday Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) explained Duggar seemed reluctant to discuss some of his hateful actions in detail.
Participants were also seen waving the flags of Palestine, Lebanon and Iran, as well as flags with the hammer and sickle, the symbol of communism. Some demonstrators held banners that read “Intifada” in Arabic, referring to the violent uprising of Palestinians against Israel.
At one point, a group of protesters burned a statue with the words “Netanyahu to The Hague” written on it. This is in reference to Netanyahu's recent arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court. Canada is one of several countries to confirm the arrest of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu based on the warrant.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's government had become quite reluctant to condemn the protests as vile acts of anti-Semitism, especially after Trudeau resigned. blown up She was posted online for initially ignoring protests to go dancing at a Taylor Swift concert in Toronto.
“Lawless protesters wreak havoc over Montreal in a violent protest. The prime minister dances. This is Canada built by a Liberal government,” declared Conservative MP Don Stewart of Toronto-St. Pauls. .
Mr. Stewart is a conservative; shocking victory In June, Trudeau's party ended 30 years of Liberal control in his constituency, causing panic and calls for him to resign.
“The violent and hateful scenes we witnessed on the streets of Montreal last night, especially attacks targeting the Jewish community, are unacceptable,” said Quebec Premier François Legault, of the conservative coalition Avenir Québec. .
Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poièvre burnt Trudeau on Saturday dismissed the prime minister's belated but overwhelming condemnation of the protests as mere political damage control.
“You're pretending to be surprised. We're reaping what you sow,” Poilievre told Trudeau. “This is what happens when a prime minister spends nine years promoting harmful woke identity politics, dividing and segmenting people by race, gender, vaccination status, religion, region, age, wealth and more.”
“You opened your borders to terrorists and lawbreakers and called anyone who questioned it racist. You said one thing in a mosque, the opposite in a synagogue, another thing in a mandir. In gurdwaras, we send members of parliament to say the opposite,” Poilievre continued.
Mr. Poièvre called on Prime Minister Trudeau to submit to an immediate election in which the prime minister would almost certainly lose.
“Montreal was burning while you danced. Let's not divide us anymore. Call an election now. We'll fire you, our civil rights, our values.” “We will take back our lives, our lives, our freedoms, and above all our country,” he said.
Prime Minister Trudeau finally addressed the protests on Saturday amid comparisons and ridicule to Emperor Nero, who infamously played the violin as Rome burned.
“What we saw on the streets of Montreal last night was horrifying. Anti-Semitism, intimidation and acts of violence must be condemned wherever they are seen,” Trudeau said belatedly.
On Saturday, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly and Defense Minister Bill Blair rushed to Trudeau's rescue, condemning the “anarchy,” “violence” and “hate” of the Montreal protesters.
Jolie said the protests were “an expression of violence, hatred and anti-Semitism that has no place on our streets.”
“Those who spread hatred and anti-Semitism, use violence, loot and destroy property must be denounced and held accountable. Riots are not peaceful protests and neither Montreal nor Canada There is no place for them anywhere,” she said.
national post office Columnist Michael Higgins noticed Even when Trudeau, Jolie and Blair were finally able to condemn the Montreal riots the next day, they still used negative language. This fits perfectly with the Liberal government's policy of ignoring increasingly vicious acts of anti-Semitism since the October 7 atrocities.
“Both Jolie and Trudeau believe these riots 'must be condemned' without actually condemning them, as if it's someone else's responsibility to do it,” Higgins said. mused, comparing Prime Minister Trudeau's slow response to the pro-Hamas riots to his iron-fisted response. process What the 2022 Freedom Convoy truck driver looks like.
“Neither statement admits responsibility or even hints that the Liberals might do anything,” he said, adding that Friday night's ugly display in Montreal “is the result of a government that has singularly failed to act.” I supported Mr. Poièvre's claim. Confront the vile anti-Semites and terrorist sympathizers who have flooded the streets of Canada with hate for over a year. ”
“What we need is a strong prime minister who will defend Canadian values and express those ideals publicly, loudly and often,” Higgins said.
