MONTREAL — Fierté Montréal’s board of directors announced July 31 that Ga’ava, Canada’s oldest Jewish LGBTQ+ organization, is barred from participating in this year’s Pride parade after anonymous complaints alleged it “spread hateful discourse” at recent events, a decision organizers say enforces a revised code of conduct.
Ga’ava president Carlos Godoy decried the exclusion as arbitrary. “The experiences of LGBTQ+ Jews are valid, and we will not be erased from LGBTQ+ spaces,” he said, adding that Ga’ava members will join side celebrations and community gatherings outside the official parade route.
Rabbi Lisa Grushcow, a Ga’ava board member and Temple Emanu-El Beth Sholom leader, warned that conditioning inclusion on renouncing Zionism undermines Pride’s core values of diversity and acceptance. “To be told you can enter queer spaces only if you disavow your Zionism, which here becomes a code for Judaism, does not pass the smell test,” she wrote.
Fierté Montréal stressed its commitment to participant safety and said it has extended invitations to other local queer groups of all backgrounds under strict adherence to the code of conduct. “Our festival remains open to all voices from the 2SLGBTQIA+ communities provided they respect our guidelines designed to prevent hate speech,” CEO Simone Gamache said.
Jewish advocacy groups swiftly condemned the ban. A spokesperson for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs posted on X that “Montreal Pride has barred Quebec’s Jewish community from the ‘Festival for everyone,’” calling the move “a troubling act of exclusion.”
Local allies have organized a solidarity march in support of Ga’ava on parade day, affirming that Jewish LGBTQ+ Canadians deserve equal recognition and respect at public Pride events.
This article is based on verified information from CTV News, The Canadian Jewish News, and Fierté Montréal’s official statements.