Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is silhouetted as he speaks to the press during an announcement at Women’s College Hospital, in Toronto, Thursday, March 7, 2024. Trudeau says pro-Palestinian protests that include hatred or harassing behavior cross a line. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Cole Burston
OTTAWA – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says pro-Palestinian protests that include hatred or harassing behavior cross a line.
Trudeau says he’s heard from too many members of Canada’s Jewish community who have seen protests at synagogues and community centres and who now feel unsafe.
He says nobody can be indifferent to the suffering in the Gaza Strip amid the Israel-Hamas war, and Canadians have a right to protest and make their anger heard.
But Trudeau says he expects Canadians, including police, to act within the law and make sure everyone can feel safe.
On Tuesday, Quebec’s Superior Court granted a Montreal synagogue and a Jewish organization an injunction barring some pro-Palestinian protesters from coming within 50 metres of their buildings.
A representative for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said the community sought the injunction after protesters surrounded a Jewish community centre on Monday, blocking people inside and chanting antisemitic slogans.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 7, 2024.
