On the one-year anniversary of a Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the ongoing conflict in Gaza, events and protests took place across Canada, including in Edmonton and Calgary.
“No one wants this, right?” said Irfan Chaudhry, a hate crimes researcher at MacEwan University and co-founder of Stop Hate AB.
The conflict has had far-reaching effects around the world and in Canada, including families grieving loved ones who were killed, hundreds of protests resulting in arrests, pro-Palestinian encampments at universities and a spike in reports of hate crimes against Jews and Muslims.
Chaudhry said regardless of people’s background or religion, peace is desired on both sides. While the conflict is happening on the other side of the world, people across Canada are affected.
“When you have families that are connected to it, they’re conveying the reality of the situation from what they’re observing. And then us as almost like users of what we’re seeing online, we’re also kind of vicariously living through that trauma as well,” he said.
The conflict has created unique challenges for universities, navigating the line between free expression and safety and wellbeing of all members of campus as protests and encampments have led to police involvement, as was the case in Edmonton and Calgary back in May.
“The University of Calgary has invested in maintaining an environment that is physically safe while supporting the expression of ideas – and we’ll continue to do so. We continue to focus on applying policies consistently to preserve free expression and ensure a safe environment for everyone,” said a statement from the post-secondary institution.
On Monday in Edmonton, about a hundred pro-Palestinian students at north Edmonton’s Queen Elizabeth High School held a peaceful walkout and protest.
“We’re here to show our solidarity with Palestine and we’re here to tell everyone that as students, we’re not going to stand for the oppression of other students anywhere else in the world,” said Mohammad Qasqas, a Grade 12 student at the high school.
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Activist Mousa Qasqas said many in the Palestinian community feel let down.
“By our governments, by academia, by the media — we don’t feel like our narrative is getting told properly,” he said. “Oct. 7 was one day and people act like it happened in a vacuum. We don’t talk about the occupation that’s been going on for 76 years.”
The Oct. 7, 2023 attack killed more than 1,200 Israelis, while another 250 were abducted and held as hostages, triggering an Israeli counter-offensive in Gaza that the health ministry there says has left more than 41,000 dead.
Calgary’s David Wallach was born in Israel but has lived in Canada most of his life. A vacation back to his homeland last year turned into a nightmare.
“We arrived in Israel on Oct. 5 last year and Oct. 7. My wife and I woke up in our hotel in Tel Aviv to three explosions,” Wallach said.
He and his wife stayed to volunteer in the devastation before they were evacuated to safety.
In Gaza, Palestinian-Canadian Marwan Diab had returned from Canada to his home just that month, helping his son who had enrolled in a university.
He was able to evacuate in November of last year but returned in May to help facilitate the escape of other family members. They arrived in Calgary on Friday.
“They have seen many horrible days of attacks. No safety. You name it. Destruction everywhere. Seeing bodies everywhere,” Diab said.
“It was very devastating for them.”
Diab is providing housing for his extended family and is working to help get about another 30 family members out of harm’s way.
Statistics Canada census data from 2021 indicates there are around 14,400 people of Jewish descent in Alberta, and about 4,425 people who are Palestinian.
Stacey Leavitt-Wright, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Edmonton, said it’s an emotional and raw day.
“I think for many in the Jewish community, they felt isolated this year. We are a small community. This is a very complex geopolitical arena. Israel’s facing a war on seven fronts right now. So it’s not something that can be simplistically brought down to a soundbite,” Leavitt-Wright said.
“People feel that they’re under attack as much as Israel is under attack.”
She added it’s hard to mark the day when the conflict is not yet over.
On the one-year anniversary, police in Canada’s largest cities are stepping up protections, particularly around Jewish and Muslim places of worship and at events being held to commemorate Oct. 7.
Jewish groups across the country are holding events to mourn the victims of the attack and call for the return of hostages. Edmonton’s event is taking place at Beth Israel Synagogue, while Calgary’s event is at the Beth Tzedec Congregation on Glenmore Trail.
Rallies and protests were held around the world in the weekend leading up to Oct. 7, including massive events in European cities and marches and vigils in Canada.
With files from Allison Jones, The Canadian Press