Vancouver Police Department said it is deploying additional officers to ensure safety during a Thursday night pro-Palestine protest downtown.
On Instagram, Youth for Palestine Vancouver is promoting Shut It Down for Palestine beginning 5:30 p.m. at the Vancouver Art Gallery (VAG). It promises “a few speeches and a march through the downtown core. We won’t stop until Canada ends its complicity in war crimes.”
It is expected to be the biggest nighttime event calling for a ceasefire in Gaza since the Oct. 19 protest at city hall. The Ministry of Health in Gaza, which is under the control of the Hamas terrorist organization, claims more than 10,000 people have died due to Israel’s military. U.S. officials have doubted the numbers due to the source.
“Besides our visible police presence, we also have officers working behind the scenes to conduct ongoing risk assessments, community outreach, and ensure we have officers assigned manage other large gatherings or protests that occur in the coming days and weeks,” said Const. Tania Visintin, VPD public information officer.
Jewish community leaders gathered Tuesday night outside VAG for a candlelight vigil, a month after the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust. Since Oct. 7, when Hamas invaded Israel, killed 1,400 people and kidnapped more than 200, VPD has received complaints about at least 18 incidents targeting Jews. Police have also increased patrols outside synagogues and schools.
Youth for Palestine also promoted Thursday walkouts and marches at Simon Fraser University, Emily Carr University of Art and Design and the University of B.C. The latter was scheduled to take place outside the Alma Mater Society Nest, which is near the Hillel House Jewish students’ centre.
A spokesperson for the university said it has a safety plan in place that includes increased patrols.
“We encourage all of our community members to be respectful and compassionate when engaging on these challenging topics,” said Kurt Heinrich, senior director of UBC media relations.
UBC’s new president Benoit-Antoine Bacon issued a statement Nov. 6 condemning hate and racism of any kind and called it “unacceptable” for any student, faculty member of employee to feel unsafe on campus.
“We must collectively summon the better angels of our nature to ensure the campus climate does not deteriorate,” said Bacon’s statement, which followed the filing of a lawsuit against UBC for allegedly failing to protect Jewish students for more than two decades.
Law firm Diamond and Diamond is claiming $15 million and seeking class-action status in B.C. Supreme Court.
NDP Premier David Eby is also the MLA for Vancouver-Point Grey. On Oct. 27, he issued a statement that said: “There is no place for Islamophobia or anti-Palestinian hate [in B.C.]. There is no place for antisemitism or anti-Israeli hate here.”
Thursday night’s protest coincides with the anniversary of the Nov. 9-10, 1938 Kristallnacht, or “night of broken glass,” when Nazis rioted across Germany against Jews, their homes, schools, synagogues and businesses.
Previous pro-Palestine protests outside VAG featured speeches sympathetic to Hamas, which was designed a terrorist group by the Canadian government in 2002.
Harsha Walia, the former B.C. Civil Liberties Association executive director, described the Oct. 7 airborne attack as “beautiful.” On Oct. 29, Langara College teacher Natalie Knight called the Hamas invasion an “amazing, brilliant offensive.” She was put on leave by the college, pending an investigation.
