Content Warning: mentions of antisemitism and violence

Over 150 Jewish students and non-Jewish allies gathered on McGill’s lower field on Nov. 2 to stand united against rising antisemitism across North America. 

The crowd held signs for peace, condemning antisemitism and Hamas. Many also waved Israeli flags, as attendees from the McGill and wider community heard from speakers who discussed the dangers of rising antisemitism and the importance of standing together in solidarity.

A group of five Jewish students from McGill organized the event, called “Standing Together Against Antisemitism,” according to one of the organizers, Nicole Nashen, 2L. It was also shared by the Jewish Student Alliance and Students Supporting Israel (SSI) at McGill on Instagram. 

“In the past three and a half weeks, there’s been an insane uptick in antisemitism [….] This [event] is really for Jewish students on campus,” Nashen said in an interview with The Tribune. “This is the scariest period of antisemitism we’ve ever experienced in our lifetimes. A lot of us learn about the Holocaust and about Jewish exile in the Middle East [and] in North Africa growing up. But we’re now experiencing this fear that our grandparents felt for the first time in our lives.”

The Canadian Press reported on Oct. 20 that the Montreal police have received an increasing number of hate crime reports, mostly targeting Jewish people, while the CBC reported on Nov. 4 that antisemitic and Islamophobic hate crimes are rising across Canada. The rise comes after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent ongoing siege on Gaza. 

Students attending the rally told The Tribune that they have seen increased hate around campus toward them and their friends, including verbal threats, physical acts of hate, and the loss of friendships. 

“My friend, she was spat at by somebody [for being associated with a table that had an Israeli flag],” said one attendee, who did not want to be named. “I make a point. I usually wear a Star of David, I keep it out. [But] I get dirty looks for it.”

Midway through, as supporters chanted “Bring them home,” a man filming on his phone disrupted the event and suggested that the group chant about killing Palestinian children instead. The man, Yves Engler, posted the video he took to X, formerly known as Twitter, where it has since been viewed over 10 million times. Organizers responded to his chants with “No, we don’t support that,” before the crowd chanted for peace as the McGill security ushered Engler to the Roddick gates.   

Many students walking between classes watched on. One stopped to share his perspective on the rally and encouraged his fellow students to step outside of the religious dichotomy portrayed on social media. 

“We have a strong history of the Jewish community living in coexistence with Muslim people. And there’s this myth in the media now that Muslims and Jews cannot live together, and it’s false,” Aymen,  a Moroccan Muslim U4 Engineering student shared with The Tribune.

As the service continued, the crowd sang songs for peace such as Oseh Shalom and Eli Eli, with the event formally wrapping up after about an hour and a half.  

Near the end, a group of the crowd bearing Israel’s national flag sang the Israeli national anthem, Hatikvah. One man also wore a hoodie with the Israel Defense Force logo and another wore a hat with the same logo. Some passersby criticized those dancing with Israeli flags, explaining to The Tribune that they found the dancing to be “distasteful” with the Israeli government’s attacks in Gaza.

One individual, who did not want to be named, said, “They are dancing and people are dying, it feels wrong, [and] distasteful.”

Members from the event emphasized that this was a celebration of the Jewish community, not a celebration of the Israeli government’s attacks, and an opportunity for Jewish students to come together against antisemitism and feel safe to do so. 

“I can speak for myself that going through this [period of time] has felt extremely lonely,” Miriam Hotter, U3 Science, told The Tribune, reflecting on the event. “Even though we’re all feeling some mix of the same emotions. We’re all going through our own unique experience. So I think it’s important that we come together as a community and just support each other.”

After the rally, around 30 Israel and Palestine supporters engaged in a passionate, at times tense, and peaceful dialogue about the recent violence and history of Israel and Palestine. As the conversations wrapped up, most shook hands with each other. 

Yasmine Belamine, U3 Arts, saw the dialogue, and said, “It was quite interesting to see people willing to debate, people willing to talk. Although I must say that a lot of emotion was present, you could feel the tension.” 

Resources: 

For faculty and staff:  

• The Employee & Family Assistance Program is available to McGill employees as a confidential support service.  

For students:  

• The Student Wellness Hub offers counselling services for students located in Montreal.  
• Keep.MeSafe is a service accessible 24/7 whenever you need to speak (or text) with a mental health professional for support. You can access Keep.MeSafe from anywhere in the world.

A previous version of this article stated that “Eli Elias” was sung. In fact, the song was “Eli Eli”. The Tribune regrets this error.

This piece was updated at 9:45 on Nov. 13.