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Chants of “Long live Palestine” and “Long live Lebanon” echoed through the streets of downtown Toronto Saturday afternoon, at an annual protest held in remembrance of the Al Aqsa Intifada and in response to the ongoing violence in Lebanon and Palestine.
The demonstration took place at the U.S. Consulate and drew hundreds of people, with many waving Palestinian and Lebanese flags while holding signs calling for justice and peace. The war in Gaza is a decades-old one, but was reignited in October 2023 when Hamas killed more than 1,200 people and kidnapped another 250, to which Israel has responded with ongoing bombardments of Gaza, killing more than 40,000 Palestinians. According to the BBC, Hezbollah responded to Israel’s bombardment by launching “more than 8,000 rockets at northern Israel and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.”
The protest was timed to coincide with the anniversary of the Al Aqsa Intifada, also known as the Second Intifada. It was organised by Liberate Palestine 48 (LP48), a grassroots movement group, aiming to advocate for Palestinian liberation through protests, education, and advocacy.
That uprising began in Palestinian territories in 2000 in response to Israeli occupation, according to Ahmad Jarrar, one of the protest organisers.
The Second Intifada, or Al-Aqsa Intifada, began on September 28, 2000, when then-Israeli opposition leader, Ariel Sharon’s visit to the Al-Aqsa Mosque with more than 1,000 heavily armed forces sparked Palestinian outrage.
“Today is Sept. 28, commemorating the second intifada in Palestine. Today, we use that to stand strong to talk about the aggression from the occupation, starting from Gaza, all the way to the West Bank, and now into Lebanon as well,” Jarrar said.
Organisers criticised Canada’s support for Israel, calling for a change in its policy, which they say contributes to the violence.
Many protesters voiced outrage over recent escalations of violence in both Palestine and Lebanon, specifically following the killing of Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah earlier this week. Some were also seen raising Hezbollah flags.
“We’re here because of the martyrdom of Sayyed Hassan Nasrullah. He was a leader of a group, and his death means we should be marching, protesting and showing the world that he was a leader for us, and a resistance group that defended our region,” said one man at the protest, who did not want to be identified out of fear of safety. “It is a peaceful protest to show the people of Canada that we do not support the killing of our leader.”
Canada identifies Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation with roots in Lebanon but many from the Lebanese and Palestinian community view it as a resistance organisation.
Protester Cain Ibrahim said Saturday’s event saw more turnout from the Lebanese community than previous years, likely because of Hassan Nasrullah’s death, along with other Hezbollah leaders.
“Fundamentally, however, Lebanon has always been a part of the Palestinian issue and resistance and has always been attacked in almost equal measure to what Palestine has received from Israel.”
Nasrullah’s passing has further intensified tensions across the region, and people from all communities are going through a lot of difficult emotions seeing the attacks in Lebanon.
Ibrahim described Nasrallah as a hero and martyr to many in Lebanon and the wider Middle East, a sentiment echoed by Batool Mansour, who attended the protest to “honour the martyrdom of Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, the general of the resistance of Lebanon, who has stood firmly in defence of Palestine and Gaza.”
The Lebanese community has stood in solidarity with Palestinians for a long time, Mansour said. But, according to her, now the conflict hits closer to home as their own families and homes are affected.
“That’s what all the Lebanese people are here for today,” Mansour said.
According to CBC, Canadians are being urged to evacuate out of Lebanon as Israel’s military action so far has killed hundreds and displaced as many as a million people.
“Now that Gaza has been bombed it’s like the Israelis are bored, they have to move onto somewhere else, so they have moved onto Beirut,” Ibrahim said.
Reporter, On The Record, Fall 2024.
