Windsor Jewish Federation accuses pro-Palestinian protestors of attempted intimidation

Windsorites have grown accustomed to the sights and sounds of pro-Palestinian protests these past few months, but the Windsor Jewish Federation said a recent demonstration went too far.

A New Year’s Eve march saw a south Windsor neighbourhood flooded with Palestine flags and chants.

A neighbourhood that historically has a predominantly Jewish population.

“The local Jewish community is very concerned,” said Dan Brotman, executive director of the Windsor Jewish Federation. “It’s kind of known as Hebrew Heights within Windsor.”

The Federation posted a statement to social media Friday denouncing the demonstration as an attempt to intimidate Jewish-Windsorites, with those with strong ties to Israel subjected to anti-Israeli sentiment.

However, Rasha Zaid, an organizer with Windsor4Palestine, said there was no negativity, only calls for peace.

“We had residents stepping out of their homes and holding out signs,” she said. “We had two little kids who actually went inside, wrote a ‘Free Palestine’ poster, went back outside, and held it and started jumping and chanting with us.”

Zaid said she had no idea the neighbourhood passed through was any different than the ones passed through in prior protests.

“I literally grew up in Windsor. I had no idea whatsoever that this neighborhood was their neighborhood,” she said.

The statement from the Windsor Jewish Federation was posted on Jan. 5.

The night before, Zaid said a leader within the local Jewish community flagged it for her.

She said that was the first time she heard about the so-called Hebrew Heights.

Police, she said, were also made aware of the route before Dec. 31.

“That just gives you proof that not everybody is aware that this is a Jewish community because the police would never put any community in jeopardy,” said Zaid.

CTV News reached out to Windsor Police Service Monday to confirm officers were made aware of the route, but did not hear back by the time this article was published.

Zaid said she left the conversation Jan. 4 feeling she and the local Jewish leader were on the same page

“I feel like I was blindsided by their statement,” she said.

Brotman said the Jewish Federation has reason to believe Zaid and Windsor4Palestine were not behind the planning of this demonstration at all.

“There's actually a group that splintered out because they found Windsor4Palestine to be too moderate,” he said. “This splinter group is the group that decided to march in a historically Jewish neighborhood.”

Zaid denies that and video of the protest on Dec. 31 shows her taking at least some leadership role, rallying the group in a parking lot before the march.

Brotman said a meeting with police is scheduled for Wednesday.