Wading into the Israel-Palestine conflict can be tricky, but the organizer behind an upcoming rally wants to give residents the chance to have a say.
Billed as Stop the Occupation in Palestine, the rally beginning at 3 p.m. Friday in front of city hall will feature information on whom to contact to voice opposition to the Israeli occupation of Palestine as well as where to send aid for civilians caught in the conflict, said organizer Hira Rashid.
"They're at war - the Israeli government versus Hamas on the Palestinian side - but our focus is more about stopping the occupation because there are a lot of deaths happening there," said Rashid, citing the disparity between the casualties in Palestine and Israel since the conflict recently ramped up in the Gaza strip.
"So we just wanted to get our voice out there and say it's not OK for our government to be supporting something that's so horrific," she said. "We're promoting peace for both countries but at the same time the occupation is something we're really against."
Following the rally, the protest will go mobile as a march down George Street to the courthouse.
The local event is just one example of the way the Middle Eastern conflict is resonating with Canadians, said Andrew Wender, a University of Victoria assistant teaching professor with the school's political science and history departments.
"[The P.G. rally] is representative of a wide-spread belief among many people in Canada and elsewhere that Israel is a colonial occupying power in Palestine and it has been conducting itself in a way which is not consistent with international law and humanitarian norms," said Wender.
It's a perspective that has a lot of support around the world. But it's also only one aspect of the global reaction to the war, he noted.
"Certainly there are many people who might declare themselves supportive of Israel in the sense that Israel has the right to exist in a peaceable way, but who might be critical of what the Netanyahu government is doing, in this instance," said Wender. "Whereas there are others, the Canadian government for instance, who give unequivocal support to the state of Israel and you see the prime minister's view that Israel is trying to defend itself and must not be hindered in that process."
It's important for Canadians to become aware and involved because of that federal government stance, said Rashid.
"You have Hamas that is also retaliating and bombing Israel but the difference is Israel has this high-tech defence system called the Iron Dome where if bombs do come in they can shoot them out of the sky," she said. "So the damage difference between the two countries is like night and day."
According to the Associated Press, Israeli air strikes have hit a wide range of locations in Gaza and diplomatic efforts have intensified to end the fighting that has killed at least 609 Palestinians and 29 Israelis - 27 soldiers and two civilians. The UN office of humanitarian affairs estimates that at least 75 per cent of the Palestinian deaths were civilians, including dozens of children.
Canadian citizens are "implicitly connected to the conflict by virtue of the position their government takes," said Wender. There are also basic humanitarian issues such as the loss of life and general welfare of those in the region as well as personal connections that would spur Canadians to take up the cause.
"There are a number of different reasons, and as you might expect, the way in which one thinks about or identifies those reasons is also inherently controversial," said Wender.
For more information on Friday's rally, visit the Stop the Occupation in Palestine Facebook event page.
-- with files from the Associated Press
