Monday, June 15, 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

Vancouver Police investigate homicide in Chinatown

Vancouver Police investigate homicide in Chinatown
Officers responded to West Pender and Carrall Street shortly after midnight and discovered a man who was deceased. The victim has not yet been identified and no arrests have been made.    

Vancouver Police investigate homicide in Chinatown

Canada stands ready for earthquake help: Trudeau

Canada stands ready for earthquake help: Trudeau
Thousands of buildings were reported collapsed in a wide area extending from Syria’s cities of Aleppo and Hama to Turkey’s Diyarbakir, more than 330 kilometres to the northeast. Some 18,000 people were killed in similarly powerful earthquakes that hit northwest Turkey in 1999.

Canada stands ready for earthquake help: Trudeau

Former Liberal MP seeks dismissal of charges

Former Liberal MP seeks dismissal of charges
Raj Grewal's lawyer argues that prosecutors have not presented enough evidence to find him guilty of the two breach of trust charges, and the Crown has failed to establish essential elements required for such a finding.

Former Liberal MP seeks dismissal of charges

Throne speech starts off B.C. legislature

Throne speech starts off B.C. legislature
Premier David Eby says economists are predicating a "global slowdown and potentially recession" and his government is focused on keeping the economy strong by building trade relationships and supporting businesses.

Throne speech starts off B.C. legislature

Gloomy 2023 B.C. housing forecast, but 2024 better

Gloomy 2023 B.C. housing forecast, but 2024 better
Association chief economist Brendon Ogmundson blames expected sluggish sales this year on a slowing economy and ongoing, elevated mortgage rates. The forecast predicts residential sales in B-C will skid 7.1 per cent this year before surging nearly 24 per cent in 2024.    

Gloomy 2023 B.C. housing forecast, but 2024 better

Woman dead, man critical in Surrey, B.C., attack

Woman dead, man critical in Surrey, B.C., attack
The survivor has life-threatening injuries, but police say the public is not believed to be at risk. IHIT is trying to determine if the tripped alarm and triggered sprinklers could be linked to the case.

Woman dead, man critical in Surrey, B.C., attack