Jewish LGBTQ2+ group excluded from Montreal Pride as organizers condemn ‘genocide in Gaza'
Ga'ava, a Montreal LGBTQ2+ group affiliated with the Toronto-based Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said it had been excluded from festivities in a social media post Wednesday evening.
'This exclusion, based on flimsy, politically motivated reasons decided behind closed doors under pressure from groups that hate Jews, deny Israel's existence, and whose members celebrated the atrocities of October 7, 2023, is a deeply discriminatory and undemocratic process. This decision will be profoundly hurtful to LGBTQ+ Jews,' Ga'ava president Carlos A. Godoy L. said in a social media post.
Fierté Montréal confirmed its decision in an interview with The Gazette Thursday morning. Montreal Pride began Thursday and runs from July 31 to Aug. 10. The parade is Aug. 10.
On Wednesday, Quebec singer-songwriter Safia Nolin announced on social media that she had cancelled plans to perform at a Pride event planned for Aug. 3, protesting against Ga'ava's planned inclusion in this year's parade. Nolin criticized the group's support for Israel, calling it a 'Zionist' organization and said the presence of Israeli flags at the parade would be 'unacceptable.'
Fierté Montréal issued a statement hours later condemning 'the ongoing genocide in Gaza' and promising to 'deny participation in the Pride Parade to organizations spreading hateful discourse.' The statement didn't specify which groups would be excluded.
Fierté board secretary Marlot Marleau confirmed Wednesday that Ga'ava was among the groups excluded. Fierté's ombudsperson made the decision after receiving complaints about the group, Marleau said.
Asked whether Ga'ava constituted an 'organization spreading hateful discourse,' Marleau said yes, but declined to offer specific details.
The ban was not targeted at the Jewish community, Marleau said, but at Ga'ava. 'It's the group that has been excluded. It's not Jewish people who have been excluded,' they said.
Fierté Montréal does not have a policy barring national flags, Marleau said, meaning organizers won't stop participants from waving Israeli flags.
In May, 10 LGBTQ2+ groups cut ties with Fierté Montréal, partly in response to the organization's approach to the war in Gaza. Several of those groups are now organizing an alternative festival, Wild Pride, which runs till Aug. 17.
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