Hundreds pack pro-Israel rally as Palestinian supporters gather nearby
Last Updated: Friday, January 9, 2009 | 9:12 AM CT
CBC News
More than 500 supporters of Israel were met by 50 pro-Palestinian protesters during coinciding rallies in Winnipeg on Thursday night.
About 12 police officers were on hand at the Asper Jewish Community Campus on Doncaster Street for the rallies in case of any outbursts. But police reported that beyond having to break up a few minor verbal skirmishes, the events were peaceful.
The people attending the pro-Israel rally argued that Israel's military advance on the Gaza Strip is a matter of survival. Hamas rocket attacks from Gaza prompted Israel to launch air strikes in late December, followed by a ground offensive that began Saturday. Hundreds of Palestinians and about a dozen Israelis have died.
Supporters of Israel crowded into the gym in a campus building for their rally, Stand with Israel, while protesters stood outside with white candles and distributed flyers. They included MLAs, MPs and federal Treasury Board President Vic Toews.
Similar rallies were held across Canada on Thursday night.
Life cannot be normal for Israelis who live under the threat of Hamas rocket fire, said Joseph Perlman, who moved to Canada from Israel about two years ago.
"We can't do nothing," Perlman said. "I have friends that are going to the shelters. It's not a normal life. We can't be sitting ducks here."
The protesters outside the rally called on Canada to boycott Israel and to place sanctions on the country.
"I'm not even Arab, I'm Italian, but when you open the TV and you go on Al-Jazeera news and you see the killing they don't show on the public TV, you cry," said Majeeda Harb, who attended the outdoor rally.
The Palestinian death toll now exceeds 760, including some 350 civilians, according to Gaza medical officials and UN estimates. Thirteen Israelis, including three civilians, have been killed.
The protest to raise awareness about the number of civilian deaths in Gaza was also meant to provide an opportunity to mourn, said Daniel Thau-Eleff, a Jewish member of the Canada Palestine Support Network.
"It's important for us, as Jewish people, as Palestinian people, as a group of many cultural backgrounds, to stand up and say what the Israeli army is doing is not okay," Thau-Eleff said.
Shelly Faintuch, a member of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg who was at the pro-Israel rally, said she is disturbed by the images she sees on the television. But after the Hamas rocket attacks, something must be done, Faintuch said.
"I'm really not sure what the answer is and what the solution is: restraint didn't help the situation," Faintuch said.
Bob Freedman, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg, was at the Stand with Israel rally but said he was glad to see both sides talking at the event.
"I think most reasonable people, … or moderates, will want to see a peaceful resolution," Freedman said.
People want to come together during the conflict, Freedman said.
"There's an emotional attachment that member[s] of the Jewish community have to Israel," he said. "Certainly the last couple of weeks have been difficult."
Israel continued its military offensive in the Gaza Strip on Friday even though the United Nations Security Council had passed a unanimous resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.
