The office of Quebec’s public security minister has condemned remarks made during a pro-Palestinian protest in Montreal after a masked demonstrator appeared to use Nazi terminology directed at pro-Israel counter-protesters.
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The incident occurred Thursday afternoon outside Concordia University’s downtown campus during a student-led pro-Palestinian demonstration. Hundreds of protesters had marched from earlier rallies at Dawson College and McGill University, with some boycotting classes. The protest grew to include non-students, and led to tense confrontations with pro-Israel counter-demonstrators outside Concordia.
One individual, who appeared to be a middle-age woman, was filmed saying to the pro-Israel protesters: “The final solution is coming your way, the final solution. You know what the final solution is?”
The phrase, notorious for its association with Nazi Germany’s plan to exterminate Jews, drew immediate outrage on social media.
In a statement on Friday, the minister’s office called the remarks “unacceptable” and urged swift action: “It’s important to make a complaint quickly to the authorities so that they can investigate and crack down on these people.”
The minister’s office expressed confidence in law enforcement, adding: “The police can intervene on the spot or afterwards, depending on the level of risk associated with an intervention.”
Montreal police reiterated Friday morning they had no information about the incident, while Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante’s office declined to comment.
The incident comes amid a rise in hate crimes targeting Jewish communities across Montreal in the past year, with synagogues and community centres being damaged by firebombs and schools being shot at.
In October, Jewish community leaders issued a public plea for Montrealers to unite against this surge of hate.
Julien Corona of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs condemned the protester’s remarks on Thursday, labelling them a “death threat” and urged authorities to respond decisively.