Around 400 people gathered to demonstrate for a ceasefire in the Israel-Palestine War in Calgary. “We are demanding a full and permanent ceasefire,” said protest organizer Wesam Cooley at the Sunday event. “We are demanding the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza.”.The protest involved people rallying in front of the Calgary Municipal Building. Protestors waved Palestinian and Lebanese flags and held signs with messages such as “Palestine will be free” and “Ceasefire now.” Protestors did chants such as “Free free Palestine” and “End the occupation.” While many of the protestors who showed up were Muslims, there were people across all backgrounds..Around 100 people stood across the street near Olympic Plaza to show support for Israel. The counterprotestors waved Israeli and Canadian flags and held signs with messages such as “I stand with Israel” and “Israel will never die.” The Calgary Police Service cordoned off an area for these counterprotestors. They danced around to Israeli music to pass the time. Cooley said he wanted Gaza to be opened up for humanitarian supplies, for it to be rebuilt, and for Israel to fund the redevelopment of it. To ensure people understand the severity of the Israel-Palestine War, he said those responsible for the destruction in Gaza should “be tried in front of the International Criminal Court, including the Israeli, American, and Canadian government officials who are complicit in this genocide.” He gave a shoutout to the Western Standard, accusing it of being a nefarious actor. Since the Western Standard has different viewpoints than the protestors, he said they should not speak to it. Liberty Law lawyer Zachary Al-Khatib confirmed on November 17 the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service stayed a charge against Cooley. READ MORE: Charge stayed against Calgary pro-Palestine protest organizer“It’s heartening that the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service has acted swiftly,” said Al-Khatib. “It shows me that after considering the evidence and public interest, a decision was made that this case has no merit.”.While Cooley did not want protestors speaking to the Western Standard, protestor Muhaimin Abdullah said many people say situations are too complicated for them to understand. “But I think regardless of what the political situation is, harming civilians is always unjustifiable,” said Abdullah. “And what we see in Palestine right now is a lot of civilians and children being severely hurt.” In his friend group, he said there are those whose families in Palestine were wiped out by Israel’s attacks. When people are living under oppression for a long time, he said they should be allowed to fight back. Counterprotestor Rachel Ifergan said she supports Israel because of the history. “Jews are indigenous to that area,” said Ifergan.“Israel has historically been a country that has supported their citizens.” As a queer woman, Ifergan celebrated Israel having gay rights. If she lived in Palestine, she acknowledged she would be beheaded..Counterprotestor Samuel Lozier called supporting Israel “the right thing to do humanly speaking.” “Jewish people have been hated more or less by everybody for 2,000 years, including in Europe obviously and in Muslim countries also,” said Lozier. “It’s the right thing to do because the current antagonism towards the nation of Israel is a continuation of that spirit of the last 2,000 years.” Lozier said Canada has inherited support for Israel because of a post-Second World War echoing. While it embraced this echo, he predicted it could die out soon. Around 450 people gathered to demonstrate for a free Palestine in Calgary in October. READ MORE: WATCH: About 450 people attend pro-Palestine protest in Calgary“We do believe Palestine must be free,” said protest organizer Mahmoud Mourra. “Free free Palestine.”
