![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/0423-city-israel-1.jpg\")
A crowd of more than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in Dorchester Square on Wed., April 22, to voice opposition to the festivities across the street.<\/p>\nAn Israel Independence Day rally drew thousands to Place du Canada in Montreal to commemorate the country\u2019s national holiday.<\/p>\n
Children from Jewish day schools danced alongside municipal politicians, hoisting Israeli flags as a DJ blared loud Israeli music that reverberated through several city blocks.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll these communities are coming together to celebrate one thing. It\u2019s not denominational, it\u2019s not political \u2014 it\u2019s just a celebration,\u201d said one of the event\u2019s organizers, Michael Druckman of Jewish Unity Partnership.<\/p>\n
Israel\u2019s Independence Day, known as Yom Ha\u2019atzmaut in Hebrew, celebrates the May 14, 1948 declaration of the state\u2019s independence. Since the holiday follows the Jewish lunar calendar, the 2026 celebrations are held from April 21 to 22.<\/p>\n
The crowd was also dotted with several pre-revolution Iranian flags emblazoned with a lion and sun, as some members of the Iranian diaspora voiced support for the country following its collaboration with the United States in the killing of Islamic Republic leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.<\/p>\n
On the other side of Dorchester Square, across from those celebrating, a crowd of more than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered, voicing opposition to the festivities. Some held up signs, Palestinian flags and expressed concern that Israel was being celebrated in light of the ongoing violence in Gaza. \u201cThey\u2019re so happy, as if they were celebrating something, even though people are still dying. I find that shocking,\u201d said Ghizlane Adda, a protestor and member of the Muslim community.<\/p>\n
A crowd of more than 100 pro-Palestinian demonstrators gathered in Dorchester Square on Wed., April 22, to voice opposition to the festivities across the street.<\/p>\n
Politicians at the Israel Day rally included Quebec Liberal Party MNA Elisabeth Prass and C\u00f4te-St-Luc Mayor David Tordjman, along with several C\u00f4te-St-Luc city councillors.<\/p>\n
In C\u00f4te-St-Luc, \u201cour community is over 60 per cent Jewish,\u201d Tordjman said, noting it\u2019s a \u201cstrong Zionist community.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re just proud to be linked with our family, our friends, our brothers and sisters in Israel, and we\u2019re always going to support them.\u201d<\/p>\n
Prass, who represents the provincial riding with the largest Jewish community, D\u2019Arcy-McGee, said even though Israel is thousands of kilometres away from Montreal, she says it\u2019s \u201cbeautiful to see people come out and celebrate their homelands.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it\u2019s important, especially with all the antisemitism we\u2019ve seen in the last few years, that we come together and support each other and stand proudly,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
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