Pro-Palestinian protesters prevent some attendees from entering IDF speaking tour event in Montreal
Posted March 5, 2024 10:40 am.
Last Updated March 6, 2024 4:23 pm.
Pro-Palestinian protesters blocked some attendees from entering an event organized by the Jewish community at the Federation CJA building Monday night.
Dozens of protesters waving Palestinian flags blocked the entrance of the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce building. There was a heavy police presence in the area.
A promotional poster for “Israeli Perspective Coming to Life” says it was a speaking tour of three Israel Defence Forces (IDF) reservists on the “fight against the delegitimization of Israel.”
It was organized by Startup Nation, DiploAct and Hillel Concordia, per the poster.
The event was scheduled to be held from 7-9 p.m. It went ahead as planned, but some wanting to attend never made it inside.
One attendee tells CityNews she arrived at 6:45 p.m. but was never allowed in. Others who were already inside were there until 11 p.m., at which point they were escorted out.
“I was stuck in this building for over four hours due to the protests,” Federation CJA president and CEO Yair Szlak said. “And so were about 100 people.”
The event was initially going to be held at Concordia University, but was later moved to Federation CJA.
Some protesters were reportedly detained by Montreal police.
