It was “hard not to get emotional” at a cross-border rally for Palestinians in Niagara Falls last weekend, an organizer says.
Hundreds of people demonstrated on the Canadian side of the border, with a smaller group on the U.S. side.
“This rally was really to show the Palestinian community that they don’t need to be afraid anymore. They don’t need to lay low. They can be Palestinian and they can be proud about it,” said Gabriel Gebril, spokesperson for the Niagara Palestine Coalition.
The St. Catharines, Ont., resident, who is Palestinian, said some members of his community have felt uncomfortable sharing their experiences, so the goal of this rally was to let them know others had their backs.
On Sunday, Gebril said, up to 2,000 people gathered in Niagara Falls and marched from Stanley Avenue and Highway 420 to the border to demonstrate their solidarity with Palestinians locally and abroad as the Israel-Hamas war that began in October continues.
In the nine months of offensives in Gaza, Israel has killed more than 38,600 people, according to the territory’s Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians in its count.
The war has also created a humanitarian catastrophe in the coastal Palestinian territory, displaced most of its 2.3 million people and triggered widespread hunger.
Stephanie Sabourin, spokesperson for the Niagara Regional Police Service, told CBC Hamilton that police were aware of the Niagara event and monitored it to “ensure participant and community safety,” as is their practice for all demonstrations.
Sabourin said police estimate about 400 people were present, with rolling street closures as the march moved along its route.
For a relatively small city, having hundreds of people attend was heartening, Gebril told CBC Hamilton, with demonstrators from 14 different groups attending, some from as far away as Montreal.
On the American side, a group demonstrated at Prospect Point in Niagara Falls, N.Y. Derek Seidman of Jewish Voice for Peace-Buffalo, one of the U.S. organizations that participated, told CBC Hamilton about 200 people were there.
Gebril said the point of the rally wasn’t to convince elected officials to act.
“It’s been nine months of a genocide and [the politicians] have not listened to us,” he said, referring to Israel’s military campaign in Gaza.
The hope, he said, is for Palestinians in Niagara and beyond to feel people have their backs during a challenging time. With close family in Lebanon, which is also in conflict with Israel, Gebril said worry leaves him exhausted.
The war was sparked by the Hamas-led attacks on Oct. 7 in southern Israel in which 1,200 people, including several Canadian citizens, were killed, according to Israeli tallies. Militants took about 250 people hostage, with about a third of those believed to be dead and 120 remaining in captivity. Dozens of have been freed and repatriated since Oct. 7.
Although many critics have since accused Israel of committing a genocide against Palestinians, the state denies that, saying its actions are self-defence. In January, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) ordered Israel to act to prevent genocide.
Gebril said he has been involved in many demonstrations since the war started and based on onlookers’ responses, he feels the Niagara Palestine Coalition has educated locals about what’s happening in Gaza.
“They really get people to understand in a way that makes them want to do something about it,” he said, adding the coalition recommends the boycott, divestment and sanctions strategy. It’s united many pro-Palestinian groups and aims to hurt Israel economically.
“Of course we want to see people talking, but at this point we want people voting with their wallet,” Gebril said.
He added that in his opinion, the argument to do so is bolstered by the ICJ’s recent decision that Israel’s settlement policies on Palestinian territories violate international law. The court’s opinion is non-binding.
Dawoud Najmudin, who also attended Sunday’s protest, called it a “beautiful, beautiful event.”
The Niagara Falls, Ont., resident, who studies at the University of Ottawa, was part of the protest encampment on the campus and is involved with the Niagara Palestine Coalition, documenting rallies with photos and videos.
“The purpose of capturing these videos is to let the people who are actually living through these things know that, if it helps [ease] even a little bit of their suffering … that they’re not alone.”