Hundreds rally for Palestine at Regina city hall after flag event cancelled

Although a flag-raising event at city hall was cancelled, it didn’t stop hundreds of supporters of Palestine from showing up and holding a gathering anyway.

The flag-raising was supposed to happen on Friday at 10 a.m. The organizers of the event are unknown, but it was supported by a group called Palestine Solidarity Regina. On Thursday, the City of Regina announced that the event would be cancelled.

“At the direction of Mayor Sandra Masters, the flag raising and ceremony for Palestine that had been planned for tomorrow, Friday November 15, will not proceed,” read the statement issued by the city.

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980 CJME has reached out to the city and outgoing mayor Sandra Masters for more details about why the event was cancelled, but requests have not yet been returned.

Valerie Zink, a member of Palestine Solidarity Regina, said it meant a lot to have people still come out and support.

“It’s really encouraging,” she said. “I’ve seen time and again these attempts to intimidate people and to silence people backfire. They bring attention to the issue. They encourage people to pay more attention, to educate themselves, and the more informed they are about what’s happening on the ground, the more conviction they have to support Palestinian liberation.”

Although the flag raising event was cancelled, supporters flew numerous Palestine flags at the gathering. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

Palestine declared its independence is on Nov. 15, 1988, and organizers say the flag raising was meant to mark the anniversary. While Canadian officials have voiced support for Palestine’s right to self-determination, Canada does not officially recognize the State of Palestine.

“Mayor Masters’ decision to cancel that official ceremony doesn’t change our desire to be here to indicate our support for the Palestinian people’s struggle for liberation and for survival right now in this ongoing genocide,” Zink said.

Listen to Valerie Zink on the Evan Bray Show:

Zink said there is a lot of misinformation about what the flag stands for.

“The Palestinian flag predates the genocide that’s currently happening in Palestine,” she said. “It predates the formation of Hamas by 70 years. It represents the struggle of Palestinians to be free from colonial rule, from an apartheid regime, from an illegal military occupation, and that’s what we’re here for today.”

Israel is currently waging war against Hamas in the Palestinian-claimed Gaza Strip, where the terror group holds de facto power. The war followed the terrorist attacks on Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023, which saw hundreds of civilians killed, including children and hundreds more taken hostage. Palestine supporters have characterized the ongoing war as a genocide, particularly due to the high rates of civilian casualties in the densely populated area.

Over a hundred pro-Palestinian supporters have arrived at city hall. @CJMENews pic.twitter.com/0t3zNd5ur5

— Gillian Massie (@massie_gillian) November 15, 2024

Although she was not surprised by the cancellation, Zink said what concerns her the most is the hateful comments and messages people are receiving.

“We’ve seen a deluge of vicious and racist comments and harassment against the organizers, against city staff, against city councilors,” Zink said. “That’s deeply distressing to many of us, and I think that that racism and viciousness is on the rise here in Regina.”

The organizers heard about the event’s cancellation through social media. Zink said she doesn’t expect to get a further answer from the city or outgoing mayor Sandra Masters.

She’s hopeful the new mayor and councillors will be open to discussions with the group.

“I think the City of Regina has an important role to play in standing up for human rights and basic principles of justice and equality globally,” she said. “We’ve had strong support for that from city council here in the past, and I hope to see that continue and grow under the new council and mayor.”

The gathering took place with support from a group called Palestine Solidarity Regina. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

Fatima Khairy was a supporter in the crowd at the event.

She is a mother of four, and said images of dead children keep her up at night.

“I watch the news, and I follow the social media a lot, so every time I watch those videos I feel like I have to do something,” she said. “I can’t pretend there’s nothing going on and live my life happily, so this is why I choose to come and show up.”

Khairy said she tries to put herself in other people’s shoes, because if she was in the same situation, she would want support.

“I would like someone to support me, to stand with me, to fight with me and say, ‘Yeah, what’s happening to you is unfair,'” she said. “So this is why I’m here, because if it’s me, I don’t want the others just to sit silent watching me pretending that there’s nothing happening.”

She criticized the decision by Masters to cancel the event.

“I didn’t like it and I didn’t expect it,” Khairy said. “It’s like they deceived us. They said, ‘Yes,’ gave us agreement, and in the last minute they cancel it. So how can I trust them anymore?”

Khairy said she feels secure living in Regina, where the community is willing to speak up and help others.

There was a small altercation at the event with one counter-protester who opposed the gathering. It was quickly resolved by police, who were already at city hall.

— with files from 980 CJME’s Gillian Massie