Decision to ban Jewish groups from Montreal's pride parade overturned

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OTTAWA — Less than a week after organizers of Montreal’s pride parade barred Jewish groups from participating, officials have made an about-face.

On Tuesday, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) announced that Jews would be permitted once again to participate in the annual celebration on Sunday, one day after the chair of the board of Fierte Montreal tendered his resignation.

“In our conversations on Monday, Fierte Montreal was adamant that the organization opposes antisemitism and had no intention of excluding the Jewish community,” read the statement from CIJA.

“Leadership reiterated that every community, regardless of religious affiliation, must feel welcome and safe at their events. The organization issued an apology to Jewish 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals in Quebec and the broader Jewish community for a decision that was felt as a message of rejection. Following constructive dialogue, we accepted their apology.”

Last week, Fierte Montreal organizers summarily barred Ga’ava — Canada’s oldest and largest Jewish LGBT organization — and CIJA from participating in the parade, saying the move was in solidarity with Palestinians, and accusing the groups of spreading hate speech.

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Ga’ava president Carlos Godoy told the Montreal Gazette on Wednesday that organizers accused them of using “hate speech by describing some groups who had attempted to prevent us from walking in the Pride parade as ‘pro-terror’ and ‘pro-Hamas.'”

While Israel is a rare haven in the Middle East for members of the LGBT community and features a vibrant and active gay community, homosexuality is illegal in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.

Despite Palestinian terror groups like Hamas boastfully putting to death even those accused of being homosexual, far-left LGBT activists still regularly ally themselves with the pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel cause.

Fierte Montreal’s decision triggered an explosion of opposition from both Jewish groups and politicians, with now-former chair Bernard Truong announcing his resignation on Monday for so-called “personal reasons.”

He was replaced by Marlot Marleau, who told the Sun on Tuesday the decision to exclude was more about focusing on people rather than groups. 

“We have a process that set clear markers for what constitutes hate speech, xenophobic speech, homophobic speech, etc.,” he said in an interview.

“We received complaints on individuals part of these groups, and the process — the ombudsperson part of the process — amended the decision about the groups.”

Marleau acknowledged the decision was seen as exclusionary, which he maintains was never the intention. 

“I wanted to rectify the situation and make sure that individual who had the (hate) speech was having these consequences, but not the whole Jewish community,” Marleau said.

“That’s part of why we wanted to make sure the Jewish people feel welcome, but also people from every state feel welcome in our activities.”

Montreal pride, he said, has never been antisemitic, and that a full review of their complaint process is underway.

“While we hope for the safe return of the hostages and for peace, and while our hearts break with every civilian death, whether Israeli or Palestinian, the streets of Montreal must not become a stage for intimidation and we must reaffirm our shared commitment to defending 2SLGBTQIA+ rights and fight antisemitism in Quebec, in Canada, and around the world.”

— With files from the Montreal Gazette

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume