Saturday, June 6, 2026
ADVT 
National

Eby deplores 'most hateful' speech praising Hamas attack, as UBC protest camp begins

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 29 Apr, 2024 03:21 PM
  • Eby deplores 'most hateful' speech praising Hamas attack, as UBC protest camp begins

Charlotte Kates of the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network told the rally outside the Vancouver Art Gallery on Friday that the attack was "heroic and brave." 

Eby said the comments about the attack, that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were "the most hateful" he could imagine.

"Celebrating the murder, the rape of innocent people attending a music festival, it's awful," Eby said at an unrelated news conference on Monday. 

"It's reprehensible, and it shouldn't take place in British Columbia. There is clearly an element of some individuals using an international tragedy to promote hate that's completely unacceptable."

Kates and Samidoun did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Eby also remarked on an encampment by pro-Palestinian protesters that began at the University of B.C. on Monday. 

Similar camps have appeared on campuses across the United States, as well as at McGill University in Montreal and the University of Ottawa.

At McGill, activists have set up dozens of tents. The university said Monday morning it had seen video evidence of some protesters using "unequivocally antisemitic language and intimidating behaviour" during the protest.

The UBC camp included about 20 tents on MacInnes Field by noon Monday.

Eby said a university campus, while a protected space for free speech, should foster a safe space for students of all backgrounds, especially for Jewish students during a time they feel "particularly alone on campuses and need additional support to feel safe."

"I have no reason to doubt that the leadership, both student and administration, at UBC will find that balance between ensuring students are safe and making sure that atmosphere of free exchange of ideas can continue to take place on campus."

In a series of messages posted on social media platform X, UBC protest organizers have asked supporters to bring tents and sandbags, as well as food, water, first aid and generators.

Naisha Khan, a spokeswoman for the protest camp, said tents started going up at 5 a.m. Monday, with attendees from UBC, Simon Fraser University and Emily Carr University of Art and Design.

Khan said they wouldn't leave until UBC supported the Palestinian right to "resistance," and the right of return to what is now Israel.

In a written response, UBC spokesman Matthew Ramsey said the school is monitoring the situation and keeping in contact with the RCMP.

Protests must "be taken with respect for others and within the boundaries of university policy and the law," he said.

"We also remind everyone that hate and intolerance have no place at UBC," Ramsey said. "The university must be a place of reasoned debate where conflicting views can peacefully coexist."

Before Eby, the Vancouver Art Gallery rally had drawn condemnation from Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, who called it a "celebration of terrorism and antisemitism."

Sim said in a post on X on Sunday that people who "spew this vile hatred" were not welcome in the city.

Liberal member for Vancouver Granville Taleeb Noormohamed said on X that "glorifying Oct. 7 is unacceptable" and "does nothing to promote peace," while B.C. Opposition Leader Kevin Falcon called the speech a "celebration of the heinous murder of Jews."

MORE National ARTICLES

NDP attempts to prod Liberals into action on pharmacare by tabling its own bill

NDP attempts to prod Liberals into action on pharmacare by tabling its own bill
The NDP and Liberals struck a confidence-and-supply agreement last year that would see the NDP support the government on key votes to hold an election off until 2025 in exchange for progress on NDP priorities.

NDP attempts to prod Liberals into action on pharmacare by tabling its own bill

Man arrested after weapons call

Man arrested after weapons call
Victoria Police have arrested a man they allege threatened to shoot another person. Police say officers responded to a report of a man threatening to shoot someone in the 11-hundred block on Pandora Avenue on June 9th.

Man arrested after weapons call

Winds in store for Metro Vancouver

Winds in store for Metro Vancouver
Winds are expected to develop in the late afternoon and continue through the night before easing early tomorrow morning. The areas that could potentially be impacted by the high winds include Vancouver, West Vancouver, North Vancouver, Richmond, Delta, Burnaby and New Westminster. 

Winds in store for Metro Vancouver

Suspect arsonist on the loose

Suspect arsonist on the loose
Police in Surrey are looking for a suspected arsonist who set a fire at the front entrance of a building earlier this month. R-C-M-P say officers responded to a report of a fire in front of a building in the 139-hundred block of 100 Avenue on June 5th.

Suspect arsonist on the loose

Shots fired in South Surrey

Shots fired in South Surrey
On Tuesday at approximately 3:08 a.m., Surrey RCMP received a report of shots heard in the 13000-block of Crescent Road. Crescent Road is closed in both directions between 130 Street and 132 Street while the scene is being processed.

Shots fired in South Surrey

School teacher charged with sexual assault

School teacher charged with sexual assault
It is alleged that during his tenure as a teacher at St. Thomas Aquinas Regional Secondary School, Vesco sexually assaulted a student while he was teaching at the school from 2017 to 2019.

School teacher charged with sexual assault