About four hundred Palestine supporters gathered once again at the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in Victoria for the tenth weekend in a row, eager to harness momentum that has delivered some rare good news on the diplomatic front in the past week.

Free Palestine Rally @ Victoria, BC: 2023/12/16 15:08:08

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Good turnout once again, although it didn’t look that way at the start. Why do most participants join in more than half an hour late? I have to make several crowd counts per event because it keeps growing throughout the speeches.

Of course the salient point that lifted the protesters’ spirits was the UN General Assembly vote last Tuesday that overwhelmingly called for a ceasefire in Gaza, and which this time even Canada voted in favour of. The United States and Israel were almost completely isolated in opposition, in a rare if only symbolic victory (since the resolution is nonbinding).

I had yet to document a weekly campaign lasting ten weeks prior to this. Will it last ten, twenty more?

The increase in turnout may largely be attributed to reinforcements from the labour movement. A delegation of unionised workers representing a new chapter of Labour 4 Palestine has called for the labour movement to regain its radical roots, reminding its peers across the nation that an injury to one is an injury to all. Another delegation, this time of health care workers, joined the chorus in solidarity with colleagues in Gaza standing their ground in the midst of a humanitarian crisis that spares no one.

Workers finally join our cause. Real workers I mean, not communists this time.

Free Palestine Rally @ Victoria, BC: 2023/12/16 13:42:39

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This time the event unfolded without significant incident, excluding some illuminated hecklers come preaching their fire and brimstone all the way to the Legislature precincts. The organisers and police alike urged the attendance not to engage with hostiles and respond only with the silent contempt that they deserve.

These two doofuses walked all the way from their usual preaching spot at RBC on Douglas and Fort to get their minute of fame on my platform. As usual, I’m happy to oblige.

Preparing for the march. I’ve noticed some join in late because they care little about the speeches, they just want to jaywalk across town blaring calls to boycott McDonald’s and Burger King. I can work with that.

Clement weather and good news energised the marchers this weekend, whose prompts resonated with improved vigour and increased tempo. In contrast, the Starbucks on Yates Street and Government Street was once again closed this afternoon, this time not even bothering to make up electrical issues as an excuse. The opposition is clearly worn down from a dogged campaign of resistance, and while victory may not be in sight, recent gains were enough to raise the morale of the movement, which no longer looks like a lost cause seventy-five years in the making.