About 300 people gathered in front of Brantford City Hall on Sunday afternoon to show their displeasure with a proclamation to be voted on Tuesday night by city council.
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Last week, Muslim Association of Brantford president Naser Hamed penned a letter expressing “profound disappointment and frustration with the recent actions and declarations by the city council of Brantford.”
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Hamed wrote that during a recent council committee meeting “a pronounced bias was exhibited towards the situation in Israel, with a palpable neglect of the dire circumstances in Gaza.”
He went on to state that his community feels alienated and marginalized.
“This has to end. This is a humanitarian issue before anything else,” Ashraf Elashy of Brantford told the crowd outside city hall on Sunday. “Don’t let the western media fool you. We are all humans. No one deserves to die. Period.”
Carrying placards and Palestinian flags, the crowd sang outside city hall before heading out to march along Dalhousie Street, Brant Avenue, Colborne and Clarence streets.
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“The Canadian government is a high consenting party to the Geneva Convention and it is upon Justin Trudeau to tell the state of Israel to lift the siege on Gaza now,” said Ken Stone of the Hamilton Coalition to Stop the War. “There are people in this country and right in this building who seek to victimize the Palestinians. They blame the Palestinians for the problems in Gaza. I say that they are wrong.”
Stone said Palestinians are the victims of Israel’s colonial projects for 75 years.
“There is a way out of this problem and it’s not something new,” he stated. “For 50 years the United Nations has been passing resolutions calling for a just, comprehensive, and lasting peace agreement for all of Israel and Palestine.”
He urged those in the crowd to call their MP and city councilors to tell them it’s time to call for a ceasefire in the Middle East.
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The Muslim association says the city’s proclamation appears to be weighted in favor of Israel.
Part of the proclamation states that the city “requests that the Government of Canada should consider financial aid to the nation of Israel and replenish depleted stocks of defensive and missile systems;” and “that as a display of solidarity with the nation of Israel Brantford City Hall will be illuminated with the colors of the Israeli flag until cessation of hostilities.”
Hamed said councilors should not be getting involved in federal matters, and instead focus on local issues to avoid division in the community.
“Our world is currently witnessing a serious humanitarian crisis in Gaza where innocent Palestinian lives are being lost daily to violence and oppression,” Hamed stated. “The loss of homes and livelihoods, and the relentless suffering of the Palestinian people cannot be ignored any longer.”
Rev. Dr. Paul Shepherd of Sydenham-Heritage United Church told those at the rally that the United Church of Canada stands for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and an end to the 75-year occupation of Palestine.
“It wasn’t that many years ago that we would not necessarily stand together,” he observed. “I see that as a sign of hope. We have learned to value each other, love each other, and care for each other. If we can do it here, maybe it can happen elsewhere.”
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