Vancouver Palestinian community reacts to Gaza war anniversary

Monday was a solemn and emotional day for Israelis and Palestinians. The Oct. 7, 2023, attack saw more than 1,200 Israelis killed and has since left more than 41,000 dead in Gaza.

Sobhi Al-Zobaidi owns Tamam, a Palestinian restaurant in Vancouver.

The restaurant is filled with messages of solidarity for the Palestinian community, including art and kites with written words of hope for the children in Gaza.

"One of the things that kept us going and gave us hope and energy is the way the larger community has responded", says Al-Zobaidi.

He says in past years it was rare for Palestinians in Vancouver to meet with one another or connect, but the ongoing Israel-Hamas war has changed that.

"There is a sense of empowerment and a sense of the need, urgency to organize, and to get in touch with each other,” he says.

Al-Zobaidi spent his childhood in a refugee camp near Ramallah. He says his eatery has faced harassing phone calls and negative online reviews.

"Calling us terrorists, calling us Hamas supporters, etc. It lasted for like a few months,” he says.

Al-Zobaidi has been organizing ongoing online fundraisers raising money for food and water in Gaza. So far, he has raised $95,000.

"Usually, we close on Sundays but we start once a month and serve a traditional dish,” he says.

He said customers have read poems at the fundraisers and have the opportunity to converse about the ongoing war and humanitarian crisis in the Middle East.

Al-Zobaidi said he is in contact with people in Gaza who help him identify organizations that are giving aid to people in the war-torn enclave, and he only sends money once he confirms they’re providing medical supplies or food.

Rise in antisemitism

Meanwhile, the local Jewish community has been facing antisemitic threats, including an attempted fire at a Vancouver synagogue earlier this year.

Nico Slobinsky, vice-president of the Pacific division of the Centre for Israel and Jewish affairs, explains the difficult year it has been for the community.

"We have seen incidents take place in schools and on university campuses. We are very concerned with the rise of antisemitism,” he said.

Police have set up additional cameras at places of worship and a mobile command centre has been deployed at the Vancouver Jewish Community Centre.

"We shouldn’t have to need that kind of detection to be able to attend our places of worship, our schools, our community centres,” Slobinsky said.

In the year since Oct. 7, thousands of protests have taken place across the country with pro-Israeli demonstrators demanding Hamas release the hostages while pro-Palestinian voices have called for a ceasefire and peace between the two sides.