Mother’s Day celebrations in Montreal took a disturbing turn as anti-Israel protestors took to the streets, chanting slogans that many observers, including Jewish community leaders and human rights advocates, condemned as genocidal and anti-Western. The demonstration, which unfolded in the heart of downtown, comes amid a wave of heightened tensions, violence, and polarization linked to the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict and its reverberations in Canadian society.
Eyewitnesses and community organizations reported that the protestors, some masked and waving Palestinian flags, repeatedly chanted phrases such as “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, a slogan widely interpreted as calling for the elimination of Israel, and other inflammatory statements. According to participants at the scene and video reviewed by local media, chants also included calls for “intifada” and other language that has been associated with incitement to violence.
This is how Mother’s Day looks in Montreal, Canada.
— Vivid.🇮🇱 (@VividProwess) May 12, 2025
I'm sick and tired that everywhere you go, you see those lunatics terrorizing everyone, chanting genocidal and anti-Western slogans, always being violent.
Am I the only one fed up with those radicals?pic.twitter.com/fbuLlwgOcn
The demonstration took place just days after a series of hateful incidents in Montreal, including the appearance of Nazi symbols at schools and attacks on Jewish community institutions. Federation CJA and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) have condemned the recent surge in aggression, intimidation, and hate targeting Montreal’s Jewish residents, warning that such actions have no place in Quebec or anywhere in Canada.
Montreal police were present at the protest to maintain order, and while no major injuries or arrests were reported, the atmosphere was described as “tense and intimidating” by families who had gathered downtown for Mother’s Day. Many Jewish Montrealers expressed fear and frustration, noting that what should have been a peaceful day was instead overshadowed by hate speech and the threat of violence.
The city has seen a marked rise in antisemitic incidents since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war in October 2023, with Jewish schools, synagogues, and businesses targeted by vandalism, arson, and even gunfire in recent months. Prominent human rights advocates, including Irwin Cotler, have called this “an unprecedented explosion of antisemitism,” warning that such hatred threatens not only the Jewish community but the democratic fabric of Canada as a whole.
Community leaders and elected officials are urging swift condemnation and action. “There is absolutely no justification for violence or hate speech in Quebec, no matter the cause,” Federation CJA stated in a release. Calls for greater police protection, stronger enforcement of hate crime laws, and educational initiatives to combat extremism are growing louder as Montreal grapples with the fallout of imported conflict and rising intolerance.
As the city reflects on a Mother’s Day marred by division, many are left asking how Montreal can restore a sense of safety and unity for all its residents in these challenging times.
Our, Canadian, government is responsible for radical rhetoric and violence against Jews. Silence by the government is seen as supportive signal for the cruelty that has been perpetrated against the Jewish community.
Prominent human rights advocates, including Irwin Cotler, have called this “an unprecedented explosion of antisemitism,” warning that such hatred threatens not only the Jewish community but the democratic fabric of Canada as a whole.
The only time the threat to the “ democratic” fabric of Canada would survive is when the Canadian government would, loudly, condemn antisemitism.
But will it ever happen? I don’t think so.