Photo Review -- February 12 to 13
Emergency Actions Demand "Hands Off Rafah!"
On February 12 and 13 coast to
coast across Canada and Quebec, people militantly held emergency
actions to stand with all those in Rafah, including the hundreds of
thousands of Gazans seeking shelter there, who are now the focus of
Israeli military attacks. At least 20 cities held actions, as part of
worldwide actions standing with Rafah, calling for a ceasefire and
denouncing the genocidal acts of the Israeli Zionists.
The actions were organized on short notice, after a
full weekend of the regular weekly actions, showing the close attention
Canadians and Quebeckers are paying to Gaza and their refusal to let
Israel and its accomplices like Canada act with impunity in the name of
"self-defence." In St. John's, Newfoundland for example, Palestine
Action YYT issued a press release on February 12 that read in part:
"Today, residents of St. John's and surrounding
communities are gathering for an emergency rally in solidarity for
Gaza's internally displaced people (IDP) trapped in Rafah as the
Israeli military begins its assault on the only remaining 'safe zone'
in the Gaza strip. The focus of tonight's rally is to urgently demand
Canada take a strong stance against Israel's bombardment of Rafah, call
for an immediate and permanent ceasefire, and halt military aid (of any
form) to Israel."
Elise Thoburn, a spokesperson, stated, "Israeli evacuation orders now cover two-thirds of
Gaza's territory. People are being pushed to the Egyptian border in a
grotesque ethnic cleansing campaign supported by the United States and
Canada, ... Canadian weapons, Canadian interference
at the United Nations and the world stage, Canada's undermining of the
ICJ [International Court of Justice] and Canada's cutting of aid to
Palestine have all helped lead to this catastrophe. We will never let
them forget their complicity.'"
National Capital Region
On February 12, at 4:30 pm, a "Hands Off Rafah" emergency protest was held in front of the Prime Minister's office on Wellington Street, in front of Parliament Hill. The protest began with calls to free Rafah and to end the ongoing genocide against the Palestinian people, with streams of people driving by, honking and sometimes waving kuffiyehs.
The night before, Israel's military genocidal assault targeted Rafah, the city that holds more than 1.4 million Palestinians, the majority of whom were displaced from elsewhere in Gaza.
The number of demonstrators rapidly grew to close to 500, who took to the streets and marched in front of the CBC, where the broadcasting company was denounced for the lies it keeps spreading on the genocide. Demonstrators then marched to the Israeli Embassy where they expressed their disgust for Israel's crimes and total disregard for international law and human dignity. They demanded an end to the genocide, an end to the occupation and an end to the suffering of the Palestinian people.
Another emergency "Hands Off Rafah" was held the next day, February 13. People gathered at the Human Rights Monument at 3:30 pm, then marched on Elgin Street, turning on Laurier Street up to the building that houses the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries (CADSI), Canada's main lobbying group for arms manufacturers and war profiteers, where a sit-in was taking place. People chanted in front of the building as organizers denounced the organization, which represents over 900 security and defence companies, almost all of which are actively involved in the ongoing occupation and genocide in Palestine.
Organizers said that CADSI makes billions in the "business" of manufacturing, exporting, and selling weapons to regimes like Israel. "We are here to demand an end to Canadian complicity with the Zionist regime and all oppressive regimes around the world. The people of Ottawa are delivering a message to CADSI to say no to their annual arms trade show in Ottawa -- CANSEC -- and no more profiteering from genocide. Canada can no longer brand itself as a 'peacekeeping nation' when it is complicit in and approves of the martyring of over 28,000 Palestinians through its continuous and unwavering support of the Zionist settler colonial State."
February
12
February 13
Quebec City
Rimouski
Montreal
February 12
February
13
Toronto
On
the afternoon of February 12, an emergency rally was held in downtown
Toronto to oppose the U.S.-backed Israeli bombing of Rafah. More
than 3,000 people took part at the action which began at the Israeli
Consulate. For more than an hour, the area around reverberated
with slogans such as Stop
the Bombing of Gaza! Stop the Bombing of
Rafah! Ceasefire
Now! This is Genocide! From the
Sea to the
River, Palestine is Forever! and many
others. As more and more people joined in, the action took over the
Yonge-Bloor
intersection with more chanting.
Along the route of the demonstration, a protester climbed several
highpoints to brandish the Palestinian flag, a gesture applauded by the
demonstrators when they passed. When the reactionary media caught wind
of the Palestinian flag flying from scaffolding in front of Mount Sinai
Hospital, they declared it a deliberate anti-Semitic act, despite the
fact that the hospital provides services to people from all walks of
life and backgrounds. This was then spun by the likes of Prime Minister
Justin Trudeau, Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow,
to say it was intolerable. It did not escape anyone's notice that these
same people have never decried the actions of the Israeli armed forces
throughout Gaza in which they target hospitals, health care facilities
and workers as well as injured Palestinians seeking medical treatment,
especially children, not to mention the vulnerable pregnant women and
women giving birth and their newborn babies.
After almost two hours, the participants marched down Yonge Street and finished up at Dundas Square where the organizers thanked everyone for their steadfast support for the Palestinians and urged everyone to continue to come out to these actions and to hold the Canadian government to account for its support of the genocide against the Palestinians.
February 12
Edmonton
February
12
Calgary
Two hundred Calgarians came to City Hall on February 12 at 5:00 pm for an Emergency Hands Off Rafah Rally, just one day after several hundred rallied for Palestine at Tompkins Park. The action, organized by the Watermelon Foundation was called with a few hours notice. People came to say Enough Is Enough! Stop Israel's murderous bombing of the people of Rafah!
The minute people arrived they lined up along Macleod Trail holding their signs and chanting slogans -- Free Palestine, Hands Off Rafah, Ceasefire Now! This street is one of the busiest routes out of downtown Calgary during the evening rush hour. At each change of the traffic lights, people filled the crosswalk along Macleod Trail and held up their signs. As the numbers grew organizers called on everyone to march around City Hall, past the Light Rapid Transit (LRT) station and the Calgary Public Library to reach as many people as possible with the messages; Enough is Enough, Stop Israel, Hands Off Rafah, End the murderous genocide in Gaza, Free Palestine. They demanded politicians such as Justin Trudeau be held to account, chanting Trudeau, Trudeau You Can't Hide, We Charge You with Genocide! Continuous honking by commuters heading home and the heartfelt reactions from people on the LRT and at the train station showed where the people stand. At the end of the march several people spoke of the urgent necessity to do everything possible to stop the slaughter of Palestinians in Rafah and to step up the work to Stand with Palestine.
This article was published in
Volume 54 Number 11 - February 14, 2024
Article Link:
https://cpcml.ca/Tmlm2024/Articles/MS54111.HTM
Website: www.cpcml.ca Email: editor@cpcml.ca