Canadian Jewish representative organizations and Jewish LGBTQ groups marched in the Montreal Pride parade on Sunday, following the reversal of a ban on Zionist groups, according to the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and other participants.
Combined Jewish Appeal (CIJA), along with its Quebec chapter CIJA Quebec, Federation CJA, Ga’ava, and congregants from Temple Emanu-el Beth Sholom marched in the parade, a CJA and CIJA said on X/Twitter. Ga’ava shared a video of participants dancing to Hebrew music while waving flags and wearing shirts with Stars of David emblazoned on rainbows.
“Open doors, open hearts, open minds,” read signs held by participants in a picture posted on Facebook by the Beth Sholom congregation.
CIJA Quebec Vice President Eta Yudin told The Jerusalem Post that Jewish pride marchers were greeted with cheers and applause along the parade route, indicating that Quebec and Montreal residents did not support the exclusion of the Jewish community.
There had been two minor incidents that momentarily disrupted the event, with one participant throwing a balloon at a Jewish marcher. Police immediately apprehended and arrested the disruptor, according to Yudin. A group of protesters with Palestinian flags also attempted to disrupt the parade, but within minutes were escorted away by law enforcement. Yudin noted that she hoped that authorities would respond as expeditiously to other anti-Jewish incidents. The Jewish group was also protected by security teams provided by Montreal Pride, CJA, and the Secure Community Network.
Yudin emphasized that these incidents were overwhelmed by the message of the event, which CIJA said on X was “a diverse and inclusive society where hate – including antisemitism – has no place.”
CIJA and Ga’ava were banned from the event by Montreal Pride on July 31, with organizers stating that within the context of the ongoing Israel-Hamas War, “the Montreal Pride Board of Directors has decided to refuse the participation in the Pride Parade of organizations with hate speech. This measure is taken in a complex geopolitical context and motivated by the desire to maintain the emotional and physical safety of communities.”
In a July 31 Instagram post, Montreal Pride said: “We denounce all forms of violence, we amplify the voices of queer communities, who, on our stages and in our spaces, express their support for oppressed peoples, particularly the Palestinian people, and their opposition to genocide.
“Our activities are part of a historic movement to fight against oppression, and we have heard the suffering of Montreal’s queer communities since the beginning of the conflict in Gaza.”
MPs: Jews essentially no longer welcomed at Pride
Yudin said that the decision received significant backlash from influencers and politicians.
Mount Royal Member of Parliament Anthony Housefather and four other MPs sent a letter to Pride Montreal on August 1, expressing that its decision to exclude the two groups was unacceptable and devastating to the Montreal Jewish community.
“Montreal Pride is effectively telling the vast majority of Montreal’s Jewish community, which has been an important part of this city for almost 300 years, that it is no longer welcome at Pride,” wrote the MPs.
Ga’ava said at the time that it was shocked by the exclusion of their group, based on “flimsy, politically motivated reasons.”
“Since 2007, Ga’ava has represented the Jewish LGBTQ+ community within Quebec’s broader LGBTQIA2+ community, organizing its participation in the Pride Parade. We have always brought joy, resilience, and support for both LGBTQIA2+ Jews and Quebecers to this event,” Ga’ava volunteer president Carlos A. Godoy L. said in a July 31 Instagram statement.
Montreal Pride issued an apology on August 5, explaining that it had contacted Jewish community representatives to assure them that Montreal Jews were welcome at the event. The statement followed the resignation of Montreal Pride’s board chair, according to the CBC, citing personal reasons.
“We stood strongly last week, when we were informed that we were no longer welcome at Pride,” said Yudin. “We were clear what message was conveyed to the Jewish community.”
Yudin said that it was an important step for Montreal Pride to publicly apologize and recommit to countering antisemitism, but that more work and conversations were needed.
Helem Montreal, the pride organization dedicated to Southwest Asian and North African LGBTQIA+ communities, and Independent Jewish Voices Montreal opposed allowing Zionist groups to march in the parade, declaring that they would not be joining the annual event.
“Bombs are falling on Gaza. Children are dying. Families are being wiped out. And here, Queer Zionists will be waving the Israeli flag in the parade. That’s their idea of pride,” the groups said in a joint August 6 statement. “Marching alongside the police, sponsors of the occupation, and colonial states is not pride. This is treason.”