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Montreal police say its hate crimes unit is investigating an incident that took place at a pro-Palestinian rally this weekend.
A video posted to Instagram on Monday shows footage from a protest organized by the group mtl4pal. In it, three figures are displayed hanging in effigy.
These effigies also appear in other mtl4pal posts of recent protests. Faces on the figures resemble U.S. President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli politician Itamar Ben-Gvir.
Other footage from Saturday’s rally, captured by online media outlet Rebel News, show an angle of only one figure from a distance. The figure is wearing a kippah and in a mock hanging.
Local and municipal leaders have denounced the images.
Quebec Domestic Security Minister Ian Lafrenière wrote on X that “the images of simulated hangings during a demonstration in Montreal are completely unacceptable.
“This kind of gesture has no place in our society.”
Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrara also shared her reaction on the social media platform.
“The incitement to violence, hate symbols, and displays of intimidation that we see in our streets are unacceptable. Images of hangings or effigies have no place in Montreal, nor anywhere else,” she wrote.
“Montreal must remain a city of dialogue, respect, and living together, where everyone can feel safe and treated with dignity.”
The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) confirmed the launch of an investigation, adding that a thorough analysis of the situation is currently underway.
Montreal police’s hate crimes unit is investigating an incident that took place at a protest, with social media video showing mock hangings of effigies resembling prominent leaders.
‘Antisemitic imagery’
The effigies have also been condemned by Israeli media and Jewish groups.
Paola Samuel, B’nai Brith’s regional director for Quebec and Atlantic Canada, called the images a “shocking, blatant display of antisemitism.”
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) — which represents Jewish federations across Canada — wrote “this is not a debate about the Middle East.
“Hanging effigies of Jews in the streets of Montreal evokes some of the darkest antisemitic imagery in history and is completely unacceptable,” reads a statement.
“This is not ‘peaceful activism.’ It is the promotion of hatred and the incitement of violence that fuels the radicalization of our social climate.”
CBC News reached out to MTL4Pal but has not yet received a response.
