Communities react to Montreal vote on Israel

The Jewish and other communities reacted positively to Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada's efforts to successfully and extensively revise Projét Montréal's resolution to have the city cut ties with Israel.

The final wording removed references to genocide, apartheid, and cutting ties with Israel.

Rabbi Reuben Poupko of Côte Saint-Luc's Beth Israel Beth Aaron Synagogue said Monday’s final vote "represents a devastating defeat for the enemies of the Jewish people, and the enemies of the state of Israel.”

The rabbi added that Projét Montréal, which "wanted Montreal to cut off relations with Israel" and declare it guilty of genocide and apartheid, "got nothing that they wanted. This represents a victory for the organized Jewish community that spent a lot of time and effort in building relationships with the people on city council, especially with the mayor before and since the election.

"This is really a great defeat for our adversaries and that’s something to celebrate. Anything other than this would have been a devastating blow to our standing in Montreal and thankfully that was averted, due to the hard work of a lot of wonderful and smart and committed people."

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs acknowledged the modified motion by Mayor Martinez Ferrada, but the organization added that it "nevertheless continues to firmly oppose the very principle of importing international conflicts through such motions.

"We note that elected officials have come to their senses by removing many of the most incendiary and unacceptable aspects of Projet Montréal's initial proposal. However, CIJA will remain extremely vigilant against any possible attempt that could once again weaken Montreal's social fabric."

The CIJA statement added that Projét Montréal was irresponsible to import the Middle East conflict "given that some of its own elected officials do not even grasp the most tragic and basic facts.

"Hearing an official opposition councillor refuse to designate Hamas as a terrorist group and speak of an 'October 7, 2023, attack against Palestinian civilians' — when the entire world knows it was a barbaric assault that killed more than 1,200 people, including Montrealer Alex Look — amounts to indecent revisionism that disgraces the city council."

Paola Samuel, B’nai Brith Canada’s Regional Director for Quebec and Atlantic Canada, stated: “We are pleased that the city council did not adopt the deceitful and distorted language contained in the original motion. We applaud Mayor Soraya Martinez and her governing Ensemble Montréal party for standing up for the citizens of Montreal, including the Jewish community."

Before the motion passed, Italian and Greek organizations expressed their opposition to the original Projét Montréal version.

The National Congress of Italian Canadians (CNIC) and the Canadian-Italian Community Foundation (FCCI) stated that "we should not add fuel to an already explosive international situation by turning it into an equally explosive and even more divisive local issue."

The Italian organizations also agreed with a statement by the Hellenic community that "Montrealers have long lived together in peace, security and mutual respect, regardless of their origins, faiths, or the international conflicts affecting countries and peoples around the world. That ability to live together is one of our city’s greatest strengths and one that citizens and elected officials alike have a responsibility to protect."

Lawyer Neil Oberman, who has taken legal action against universities in relation to antisemitic incidents against Jewish students, said in a social media video that the city should be focusing on resolving such issues as the homeless, potholes, cracked sidewalks, and other matters.

"People deserve to have infrastructure that's consistent with Western civilization... as opposed to wasting, time, effort, energy, creating division — this is what the city councillors do, because they're pulled around like puppets!" he added. "We've got to stop focusing on divisive things, and instead focus on making society better."