Montreal mayor to speak with police after effigies hanged during pro-Palestinian protest

Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada said she intends to speak to Montreal police following a pro-Palestinian protest held last weekend. (The Canadian Press/CTV News)

Montreal’s mayor said she intends to speak with the city’s police service after a viral video of a pro-Palestinian protest showed effigies of two Israeli politicians being hanged.

Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada called it “a clear act of antisemitism.”

The effigies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben-Gvir, as well as a third one depicting U.S. President Donald Trump, were hanged on May 24 in downtown Montreal during a protest organized by Montreal4Palestine group and their supporters.

“What we saw this weekend is unacceptable,” Martinez Ferrada told reporters on Wednesday afternoon.

Protesting is a democratic right, “but do it in a way that is respectful. And that’s not what we saw this weekend. It was actually denounced by many other organizations, and I think we have to denounce it,” the mayor added.

A video circulated on X described the protesters using “an effigy of a Jew wearing a kippah, hanging by a rope.”

Montreal4Palestine did not respond to an interview request on Wednesday.

In a written statement, the group said the discussion around the protest has been distorted and mischaracterized.

“We are deeply concerned by efforts to falsely characterize a side-profile image of an effigy as depicting ‘a man in a kippah.’ We unequivocally reject this interpretation and denounce this misleading narrative circulated by various media outlets and politicians in a deliberate effort to tarnish our reputation and deflect from the reality that almost 10,000 Palestinians are currently held under inhumane conditions in ‘Israeli’ detention centers,” part of the statement reads.

“The effigies displayed during the demonstration were directed specifically at political figures, Benjamin Netanyahu, Itamar Ben Gvir, and Donald Trump. This symbolic and non-violent act of expression was aimed at the political architects and cheerleaders of brutal policies against Palestinians, particularly as senior officials like Netanyahu and Ben Gvir, both sanctioned by Canada, have promoted harsher punitive measures, including the death penalty. At no point were these depictions intended to represent Judaism, Jewish people, or any religious, ethnic, or identifiable community.”

The group went on to say that criticism of governments and leaders is protected speech, and that Montreal4Palestine rejects all forms of hate and violence against identifiable groups.

Police open investigation

Montreal police say its hate crime unit has opened an investigation and that “a thorough analysis of the situation is currently underway.” A spokesperson declined to comment further as the investigation is ongoing.

The pressure is on for the force to take action after Montreal-based lawyer Neil Oberman issued a formal demand letter to Montreal police to preserve evidence related to the May 24 protest and to refer criminal charges to the province’s public prosecution service. He is accusing protesters of committing several offences, including wilful promotion of hatred, advocating or promoting genocide, and uttering threats.

No charges have been laid in relation to the protest.

“People shouldn’t cross the line when it comes to hate, aggression, intimidation, and violence. That is the reason for this letter, not to curb anybody’s freedom of expression,” Oberman told CTV News.

He is representing two members of the Jewish community who witnessed the protest and are questioning why existing laws around public safety do not seem to be enforced.

“My clients respect the police. They have a very difficult job under difficult circumstances,” Oberman said. “Laws are great, but if they’re not enforced, they have no value to society.”

‘A vile act of hate’

Several political leaders have expressed their condemnation on social media of the use of hanged effigies in the protest.

Some critics, however, were quick to point out that Ben-Gvir, whose likeness was hanged with a noose in one of the effigies, recently celebrated his 50th birthday with a cake decorated with a noose, in reference to a newly passed law he championed that imposes the death penalty exclusively for Palestinians convicted of killing Israelis. The controversial law makes hanging the default method of execution, CNN reported.

Reacting to the video of the Montreal protest last weekend, federal public safety minister Gary Anandasangaree called it “a vile act of hate” and “absolutely deplorable” in a post on X.

“The images of simulated hangings at a protest in Montreal are completely unacceptable. This kind of behavior has no place in our society,” wrote Quebec Minister of Domestic Security Ian Lafrenière on social media.

Anthony Housefather, a Liberal MP from Montreal, said the display was “disgusting, antisemitic and clear incitement to hatred.”

“Abominable, appalling images of vilest form of antisemitism in the streets of Canada!” wrote Israel’s ambassador to Canada, Iddo Moed, on X.

Last week, Canada’s foreign affairs minister, Anita Anand, said she has directed officials to summon Moed over the treatment of dozens of civilians, including 12 Canadians, on board the Global Sumud Flotilla.

Video footage shared online by Ben-Gvir showed the activists being detained with their hands bound behind their backs and their faces pressed to the floor. It also showed security personnel pushing someone chanting “free, free Palestine” to the ground.

“What we’ve seen, including the video shared by Ben-Gvir, is deeply troubling and absolutely unacceptable,” Anand told reporters on May 20. “Canada has already imposed strict sanctions on Ben-Gvir, including asset freezes and a travel ban in response to his repeated incitement of violence.”

“The protection of civilians and respect for human dignity must be upheld at all times,” Anand added.

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