A sombre gathering of more than 1,000 people was held outside the Vancouver Art Gallery Tuesday to mark one month since the horrific Hamas attack in Israel.
Members of the Jewish community and supporters gathered and lit around 1,500 candles.
“One for each of the people that were murdered by Hamas 30 days ago,” Rabbi Dan Moskovitz said.
Attendees held signs showing the names and photos of the hundreds of people who are believed to be missing in the region.
“We are still missing more than 240 hostages who are in Gaza right now,” said Ezra Shanken, the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver’s CEO.
“I think that it’s important for people to remember that Hamas is not the Palestinian people and that I believe in my heart if we stood together and gave support to liberate the Palestinians from this genocidal terrorist group and give them a possible positive future … I think the world would be a better place.”
Even though B.C. is more than 10,000 kilometres away from the ongoing conflict, officials said antisemitic incidents are on the rise.
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B.C. human rights commissioner Kasari Govender said in a statement that she is deeply concerned about the rising number of hate incidents and she called for “immediate and sustained action” to address and prevent further incidents.
Govender said Vancouver police alone have reported 18 hate incidents aimed at the Jewish community, while the National Council of Canadian Muslims has said the last few weeks have been the worst in decades for reports of Islamophobia.
In the wake of the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, Govender made 12 recommendations to the province to combat hate. She said she’s still waiting for a response nearly 12 months later.
Israeli troops have been battling Palestinian militants inside Gaza for over a week, and have succeeded in cutting the territory in half and encircling Gaza City. Food, medicine, fuel and water are running low, and United Nations-run schools-turned-shelters are overflowing.
The Palestinian death toll has surpassed 10,000, the Health Ministry of the Hamas-run Gaza Strip said Monday, including more than 4,100 minors.
About 1,400 people in Israel have died, mostly civilians killed in the incursion by Hamas.
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— with files from The Canadian Press and The Associated Press
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