Canadian court bans protests at Jewish institutions in Montreal

By Barry Ellsworth

TRENTON, Canada (AA) – A court in Canada’s Quebec province has banned pro-Palestinian protesters, including Jews opposing Israel’s military actions against Gaza, from being within 50 meters (164 feet) of various Jewish buildings in the city of Montreal, it was reported Wednesday.

The injunction, requested by a Montreal synagogue and the Jewish organization Federation CJA, comes after several nights of clashes between pro-Palestinian protesters and pro-Israel counter demonstrators outside Jewish institutions.

The Pro-Palestinian groups banned include Montreal4Palestine, Palestinian Youth Movement Montreal, Alliance4Palestine and someone named Bara Iyad Abuhamed. It also banned the group Independent Jewish Voices (IJV).

The injunction is for 10 days and was granted March 5 because the plaintiffs “have established the necessity of an urgent intervention,” Judge Serge Gaudet wrote.

A demonstration occurred Tuesday at the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue where the Montreal chapter of the IJV demonstrated against an Israeli real estate event marketing properties that included occupied land.

The event, which IJV spokesperson Sarah Boivin said was “deeply offensive” considering the violence perpetrated by Israel in Gaza, was billed as featuring “expert speakers” to address “all your questions about purchasing real estate in Israel,” the Globe and Mail reported. The sale included settlements in Gaza that are considered illegal by Canada and the UN.

Another IJV protest occurred at the Montreal Holocaust Museum.

Pro-Jewish advocates spoke on fighting “against the delegitimization of Israel.”

The IJV held a protest demonstration at the event, but it was “against Israel and its ongoing violence, not Jewish Montreal,” it said.