The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center says it has filed a complaint with Montreal police after demonstrators carried pictures of former Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, who was killed Friday by an Israeli airstrike, at a protest over the weekend.
The Holocaust education group says it has also filed a complaint with Toronto police after Hezbollah flags were carried at a weekend protest in that city.
The Canadian government describes Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese political party and militant group, as “one of the most technically capable terrorist groups in the world.”
The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center says it believes individuals displaying the flags of terror groups can be criminally charged with public incitement of hatred.
The group says an Israeli flag was desecrated at the Toronto protest, that protesters were seen carrying signs calling for “armed resistance” and that a speaker called for demonstrators to teach their children that the “Zionist entity is an enemy.”
The group, along with Jewish organizations B’nai Brith Canada and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, says it has sent a letter to Justice Minister Arif Virani urging the federal government to ban the public display of flags and symbols of listed terrorist entities.