By Canadian Press

With police at school, Vancouver Jewish community marks Oct. 7 with sadness, unease

Oct 7, 2024 | 11:00 AM

VANCOUVER — Members of Vancouver’s Jewish community say they are meeting the anniversary of the 2023 Hamas attack on Israel that triggered their ongoing war with profound sadness and ongoing unease.

Multiple police and at least one police dog were posted outside the Talmud Torah School on Oak Street as parents dropped off their children.

Allie Saks, who has two children at Talmud Torah, broke down in tears as she described Oct. 7 as a “day of grieving” saying it’s hard to drop off a child at school where they “have to see police in front.”

Rabbi Andrew Rosenblatt of the nearby Schara Tzedeck Synagogue says the Oct. 7 attack and the community’s reaction are “a little bit akin to the anniversary of 9/11,” referring to the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington in 2001.

The synagogue was the scene of an arson attack in May that blackened the temple’s doors.

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Rosenblatt says a silver lining has been the response of most Canadians in the last year, and that people are “rediscovering how important it is to feel close and in lock-step with the Jewish community.”

The Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack in Israel killed about 1,200 people while about 250 more were taken hostage.

It triggered an Israeli counteroffensive in the Hamas-held Gaza Strip that the territory’s health ministry says has left more than 41,000 Palestinians dead, and the hostilities have since spilled into nearby Lebanon.

About a hundred of the hostages taken by Hamas in the Oct. 7 attack have not been returned.

In a post on social media platform X, BC NDP Leader David Eby says the province’s residents still feel deeply “the pain and sorrow” from Oct. 7 and “stand firmly against violence and its glorification.”

Meanwhile, B.C. Conservative Leader John Rustad denounced the attack and the ongoing “celebrating the massacre of Jews and glorifying terrorist organizations” by some local protesters and calling for immediate action to crack down on those who “call for violence against minority communities, particularly Jews.”

Provincial Green Leader Sonia Furstenau also issued a written statement, saying that party members “are committed to the safety of all British Columbians and stand firmly against hate in all its forms.”

Vancouver Police have said they are stationing extra officers at faith-based schools today and places of worship.

Among the groups planning rallies and events on Monday is pro-Palestinian group Samidoun, which is promoting its events on social media by referring to the Oct. 7 attacks as “Al-Aqsa Flood,” the Hamas code name for the operation.

Samidoun says the events will include a “teach-in” about the operation and a rally at the Vancouver Art Gallery on Monday, as well as attending an Oct. 8 court appearance the group says will be made by Samidoun organizer Charlotte Kates.

Samidoun director Kates was arrested last year in a hate-crime investigation after praising the Oct. 7 attack as “heroic and brave” in a speech at a rally.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 7, 2024.

Chuck Chiang, The Canadian Press