Hanging Netanyahu, Ben-Gvir Effigies In Montreal Draw Jewish Outrage

Dozens of anti-Israel activists demonstrated in Montreal on Sunday, displaying hanging effigies of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir in Phillips Square.

The display drew sharp condemnation from Canadian Jewish leaders, who said the protest crossed the line from political activism into antisemitic intimidation. The incident comes as Jewish groups in Canada warn that antisemitism has reached record levels across the country.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, the advocacy group of Jewish Federations of Canada-UIA, said the demonstration was organized by Montreal4Palestine and accused the activists of promoting hatred.

“Let us be clear: this is not a debate about the Middle East. Hanging effigies of Jews in the streets of Montreal evokes some of the darkest antisemitic imagery in history and is completely unacceptable,” CIJA said.

“This is not ‘peaceful activism.’ It is the promotion of hatred and the incitement of violence that fuels the radicalization of our social climate. What will it take for authorities to treat these acts as the serious threat they are?” the group added.

No public statement was found from Montreal police, city officials, Quebec officials or Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney condemning the latest display.

Carney’s office did issue a statement this week after his conversation with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, but the statement focused partly on Canadian citizens who were briefly detained by Israel after trying to breach the naval blockade on Gaza.

Carney “reiterated that the appalling treatment of civilians, including Canadian citizens, aboard the Gaza-bound flotilla was unacceptable,” according to the readout.

The statement also said the two leaders discussed “the devastating resurgence of antisemitism around the world,” and that Carney outlined Canada’s work “to confront antisemitism with the full force of the law, and to protect Jewish communities.”

Montreal saw a similar controversy in 2024, when protesters burned an effigy of Netanyahu during anti-Israel demonstrations. Then-prime minister Justin Trudeau condemned the incident at the time, saying, “Canada’s government will not tolerate antisemitism.”

The latest protest comes one month after B’nai B’rith Canada released its annual audit of antisemitic incidents, reporting the highest number recorded since the organization began issuing the report in 1982.

According to the group, Canada saw 6,800 incidents of Jew-hatred in 2025, up from 6,219 in 2024, an increase of 9.4%. The group said it was the third consecutive year in which Canada recorded a new high.

B’nai B’rith Canada CEO Simon Wolle said the findings should serve as a warning to the country.

“Our review of the past year’s antisemitic incidents must be understood as a wake-up-call,” Wolle said.

Jewish organizations in Canada have warned that anti-Israel demonstrations are increasingly moving beyond criticism of Israel and into public intimidation of Jewish communities. CIJA said the hanging effigies in Montreal should be treated as a serious threat, not as normal protest activity.