Victoria Marches for Palestine, Take Thirty-Five

255 Palestine supporters rallied at the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia, for the thirty-five weekend in a row, to demand a ceasefire in Gaza and freedom for Palestine.

This event was held in conjunction with a global day of action for Palestine, the most prominent demonstration being in Washington, where an estimated 75’000 protesters surrounded the White House with a “red line” banner, to emphasise US President Joe Biden’s lack thereof pertaining to Israel’s onslaught on Gaza.

Protesters worldwide, and here in Victoria in particular, found American involvement in a recent Israeli hostage rescue operation particularly galling. It is worth noting that the IDF raid was launched from the pier the US set up with the pretence of delivering humanitarian aid to Palestinian refugees in Rafah, and instead assisted a raid which killed over two hundred Palestinian civilians in return for four Israeli hostages.

Closer to home, the emcee had an issue with a motion by City of Victoria Councillor Marg Gardiner, rambling idiot extraordinaire, calling upon the city to respond to unspecified allegations of antisemitism in town, especially in graffiti. The emcee, to paraphrase in vernacular, essentially called upon Gardiner to either put up or shut up. She also invited demonstrators to attend next Thursday’s Committee of the Whole meeting, while respecting decorum of course. On my part I won’t bother, and predict her motion will go down in flames like every other she introduces.

Predictably, several Zionists showed up today, no doubt because they’ve heard their counterparts were taking the bait. While there was a heated encounter right before the march, overall interaction between the factions was minimal.

On the other hand, there were multiple hostile encounters along the march’s itinerary, all by angry old folks as usual. One degenerated into a scuffle, near the Victoria Visitor Center, after such an angry old man responded to allegations of a decapitated Palestinian baby by asking: “What about Israeli babies?” I dared him to talk to my camera, but he instead attempted to snatch it, only to be swiftly intercepted by four police officers who lectured him about protest etiquette. I also obtained evidence of a fellow independent reporter having been assaulted by a random hostile on the sidewalk by the Empress Hotel.

More events have been announced for the upcoming week. Among others, there will be a sit-in at MP Randall Garrison’s office on Thursday at noon, as part of yet another national day of action. There will also be a street iftar next Saturday at 8:30PM at the Quadra Village Community Center. As for the weekend rally at the Legislature, it will exceptionally be held on Friday at 6PM instead.