‘We are one family’: Montreal rally in support of Israel
Posted October 10, 2023 12:34 pm.
Last Updated October 10, 2023 6:37 pm.
Montrealers gathered at Westmount Square Tuesday afternoon in solidarity with Israel.
Protesters waved and draped themselves in the blue-and-white Israeli flag.
“It’s just hard to believe that this is happening and it just keeps happening over and over and over,” said Samantha Sevilla, who attended the rally in front of the Israeli consulate in Westmount.
People attend a rally in support of Israel in Montreal, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi
The event was organized by Montreal rabbis.
“We felt a need,” said rabbi Adam Scheier, a rally co-organizer. “We knew that our community needs to express itself in many ways. We need to come together. It’s so important. Our hearts are all broken. And so, as rabbis we speak to each other, we initiated this and said, we’re going to bring our communities out so we can all pray together, and speak together, and hug each other and show support for each other in this really difficult time.
“We are one family, all of humanity is one family, and the Jewish people are one family as well.”
Talia Ben Sasson, right, hugs Ayellet Tzur as they attend a rally in support of Israel in Montreal, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christinne Muschi
Hamas militant fighters stormed into Israel and brought gun battles to its streets for the first time in decades.
The conflict already has killed hundreds on both sides.
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The Israeli military says more than 1,000 people have died in Israel since the incursion.
In Gaza and the West Bank, 830 people have been killed, according to authorities there.
A Montreal man was confirmed to be among the victims of Saturday’s attack.
Montrealers at Westmount Square in solidarity with Israel, Oct. 10, 2023. (Swidda Rassy, CityNews)
Many told CityNews they have friends and family in Israel and are fearing for their well-being.
“We have aunts, uncles, and tons and tons of cousins,” said Sevilla. “They’re all over the country. And we’re just feeling very distant because we’re so far away. And we want to be able to show our support in any way that we can.”
“We have an uncle who’s in his late 80s with his wife, and they live alone in a building that doesn’t have a security room because it’s an older building,” added Rachel Sevilla. “So for them, every time the siren goes off, to be able to get to the shelter, which is all the way downstairs, is very difficult.”
Montrealers at Westmount Square in solidarity with Israel, Oct. 10, 2023. (Swidda Rassy, CityNews)
Rylee Kouri, who attended Tuesday’s rally, was in Israel in the summer.
“I went on Birthright end of July. Our trip left July 30,” said Kouri. “We had an eight-day trip throughout all of Israel. So I’ve been back for like a month or so, a bit more.
“It honestly just breaks my heart, and I can’t believe what’s going on there, and I really just feel helpless. I feel like there’s nothing for me to do.”
Federal Minister of Innovation, Science and Industry of Canada François-Philippe Champagne was also in attendance.
“I wanted to really express to the community that we are with Israel, we will be with Israel,” he said. “The images, the latest images, are shocking to think of the atrocities that have been committed. I would say we are all united in condemning the violence, condemning Hamas.”
Montrealers at Westmount Square in solidarity with Israel, Oct. 10, 2023. (Swidda Rassy, CityNews)
—With files from The Associated Press
