On Sunday, November 9 about 100 vocal demonstrators gathered in front of the Israeli Consulate in downtown Toronto to demand an immediate end to the Israeli Apartheid Wall and to educate the public about the severe impacts the Wall is having on the lives of Palestinians.
***image2***In a powerful display, a giant ‘mock wall’ was raised, reaching about 4 meters high and 9 meters long, with the words “Stop Israel’s Apartheid Wall” emblazoned in bright red across it. The demonstration was also marked by a swarm of smaller, multi-lingual placards and banners calling for an end to the Occupation and a Palestine without the Wall. While enthusiastically chanting slogans to fill both the streets and the Consulate, information on the Wallâs crippling effect on life in Palestine was distributed to participants and passers-by.
Collectively, the demonstrators denounced the deplorable conditions of Palestinians living under Israeli Occupation, and called for the unequivocal dismantling of the Wall.
In the face of aggressive counter-protests, the Anti-Wall demonstrators at one point responded by spontaneously turning their backs and shouting, “Turn Your Back on Racism!”
After almost 2 hours the demonstrators began chanting “Tear Down the Wall, the Wall must Fall,” while those holding the mock Wall began to shake the banner, slowly lowering it backwards towards the ground, simulating the Wall’s destruction. The action was met with cheering and celebration.
The event, organized primarily by Artists Against the Occupation, also had participation from Solidarity For Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR), Jewish Youth Against The Occupation, Jewish Women Against The Occupation, and The International Socialists, as well as activists, students, and members of the local Palestinian community.
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