The former executive director of the BC Civil Liberties Association (BCCLA) has sparked outrage after she praised Hamas for its recent attack on Israel that killed more than 1,400 people and took hundreds of hostages.
Harsha Walia, who resigned from the BCCLA in July after tweeting “burn it all down” in response to Catholic church burnings in British Columbia, spoke at a pro-Palestinian rally in Vancouver on Saturday.
In her speech, Walia said: “How beautiful is the spirit to get free that Palestinians literally learned how to fly on hang gliders.”
“We are gathered here on land stolen by the Canadian colonialist terror state, Canada and Israel are settler colonial projects, we want the land back from Turtle Island to Palestine.”
She was referring to the unprecedented use of hang gliders by Hamas militants who infiltrated Israel from the Gaza Strip and launched a surprise attack on a music festival near Tel Aviv on Oct. 7.
The attack, which was part of a larger offensive that involved bulldozers, motorbikes and rockets, resulted in more than 260 deaths at the festival and many more hostages taken by Hamas.
The Israeli government has condemned the attack as a “barbaric act of terror” and vowed to rescue the hostages and retaliate against Hamas.
Since the beginning of the hostilities at least 1,400 people have been killed in southern Israel and an additional 4,300 within the Gaza Strip.
Walia’s comments were met with strong criticism from pro-Israeli groups and politicians, who accused her of glorifying terrorism and inciting violence
Walia’s speech was part of a series of nationwide protests that have taken place since the beginning of the conflict.
The protests, which were organized by various Palestinian groups, drew thousands of people in cities such as Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton, Montreal and Vancouver.
However, the protests also witnessed clashes between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli demonstrators.
Some of the protests also featured controversial statements, such as calls to “free Palestine from the river to the sea”, which imply the elimination of Israel as a state.
