Victoria Marches Against Israel’s Onslaught of Palestine and Lebanon

160 Palestine supporters rallied at the Legislative Assembly of British Columbia in Victoria, for the fifty-first weekend in a row, as Israel unilaterally escalates the conflict in the Middle East from the genocide in Gaza to an all-out regional conflict.

Consternation isn’t theirs alone. Yesterday, scores of diplomats walked out of the United Nations General Assembly chamber as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepared to address it. In his speech he reiterated his intention to take on the United States’ so-called “Axis of Evil” Middle-Eastern nations and turn the entire region into some Greater Israel, which is of course the pinnacle of genocidal folly—to the point I wondered upon first encountering a clip on social media whether I had actually stumbled upon a very good deep fake.

But the world isn’t merely watching impotently, even as international government institutions prove useless. American singer David Rovics, performing in town this afternoon, told the attendance that the solution consisted in a mix of Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS)—along with direct action and civil disobedience, like the sabotage of weapon factories such as that of Elbit Systems in the UK.

The crowd then took to the streets as usual. Public reception proves just as whimsical as the weather, and today we were met with showers of hostility spoiling the overall support. There were many Zionist encounters throughout the itinerary, to the point I could only record a minority of these. Among them were a hysterical woman calling us all terrorists, a man waving a giant Israel flag in silence as a family of bystanders cheered him on, and an inebriated woman screaming that all Palestinians are rapists. An organiser urged stragglers not to pay these any heed, dismissing the hostiles as unworthy of attention.

While routine, this rally occurred at a juncture, nearing the one-year ‘anniversary’ of the conflict which shall trigger an escalation of the protests mirroring that of the conflict spreading onto Lebanon and beyond. Many rallies have been announced near and far. The emcee in particular revealed an event at the Legislature on October 7 as 5pm, without disclosing any details. Labour 4 Palestine has also committed to a contingent at next Saturday’s rally. And tomorrow there shall be an emergency protest at the Vancouver Art Gallery. Also expect some action from the UVic student strike organisation, which has been mobilising lately. And that’s just a sample of what’s coming.