After university campuses, public space. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators pitched their tents in Victoria Square on Saturday, demanding that the Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) withdraw its investments in companies “involved in the Israeli occupation.”
Demonstrators gathered in front of Victoria Square in the afternoon to show their support for a new pro-Palestinian camp occupying the site. The show, which brought together people of all ages, went on peacefully.
The Divest for Palestine collective demands that “CDPQ leave[e] Investments of $14.2 billion in 87 companies identified as complicit in the Israeli occupation immediately followed,” said a press release issued on Saturday. Demonstrators also demanded the closure of the Quebec office in Tel Aviv.
Photo by Dominic Gravel, The Press
The show, which brought together people of all ages, went on peacefully.
“These are the demands made by various groups for several months […]. We will not give up until our demands are heard,” said Benoit Allard, a representative of the collective, sitting in the center of Square Victoria. Behind him, tarpaulins with slogans spread around the camp, hiding the tents from view.
Photo by Dominic Gravel, The Press
Benoit Allard, spokesperson for the DInvest for Palestine Collective
According to Benoît Allard, the “Al-Soumoud Popular Camp”, which currently houses fifty people, illustrates the “extent of mobilization” in support of the Palestinian people. “The Israeli occupation includes not only universities, but also government institutions, the Quebec government and the Caisse de Dépot et Placement,” he stressed.
A program of colors
As crowd chants echoed across the square, one protester climbed onto the plinth of the statue of Queen Victoria in the center of the square. With a hose in hand, a masked man sprays the monument with colorful paint. Further down, people wearing keffiyehs walked among the demonstrators, offering them bottles of water and slices of watermelon, which have become symbols of the pro-Palestinian movement.
Photo by Dominic Gravel, The Press
A protester sprays paint on a statue of Queen Victoria.
Later in the afternoon, a representative of the right-wing media Rebel News and her cameraman, who had come to document the camp from the CDPQ grounds, were attacked by black-clad demonstrators. Demonstrators surrounded them, pointing at them with outstretched umbrellas. “Go home, fascist!” Rebel News, get out of there! They shouted slogans.
Rebel News has repeatedly taken a stand against the movement of pro-Palestinian camps on college campuses, including describing them as “pro-Hamas hate rallies” on its website.
Photo by Dominic Gravel, The Press
Demonstrators attacked a representative of the right-wing media Rebel News.
Officers from the nearby city of Montreal Police Department witnessed the scene, at times exchanging tense words with a Rebel News representative and demonstrators. The confrontation did not escalate and the demonstrators later returned to the camp.
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