Hundreds gathered at the Asper Jewish Community Campus Monday evening to remember Israelis killed since the onset of a bloody conflict in the Middle East one year ago.
Jewish leaders, politicians and community members participated in a Walk for Israel on the south Winnipeg campus to commemorate the year since the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack in Israel and the ongoing war in Gaza and elsewhere in the region.
“T0day, we come together to mourn the loss of innocent lives and to pray for the safe return of all hostages still in captivity. We also pray and hope for lasting peace,” said Gustavo Zentner, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs vice-president for Manitoba and Saskatchewan.
Premier Wab Kinew, Mayor Scott Gillingham and Winnipeg MPs Ben Carr and Marty Morantz were among the politicians in attendance.
Elsewhere, organizers within the city’s Palestinian community hosted a “World Awakening Day” event at the steps of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights.
Advertising for the event described Israel as a terrorist state and said Oct. 7 is the “day that the entire world woke up.”
Ramsey Zeid, president of the Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba, previously told the Free Press Monday’s event was to commemorate lives lost during the past year and in 76 previous years of conflict between Palestinians and Jews.
Zentner said to use Oct. 7 for any other political messaging is “a grievous and unconscionable failure of moral integrity.”
The Winnipeg Police Service said officers would be monitoring both gatherings.
Since the events of Oct. 7 almost 1,200 people in Israel have been killed and 5,400 injured, according to data compiled by the United Nations.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, has said more than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed and more than 96,000 wounded in Israel’s military offensive.
nicole.buffie@freepress.mb.ca
Nicole Buffie
Multimedia producer
Nicole Buffie is a multimedia producer who reports for the Free Press city desk. Born and bred in Winnipeg, Nicole graduated from Red River College’s Creative Communications program in 2020 and worked as a reporter throughout Manitoba before joining the Free Press newsroom in 2023. Read more about Nicole.
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