Pro-Israel Demonstrators Abandoned by a Bus Company — Again

Pro-Israel protest Ottawa Canada (Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs / Twitter)
Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs / Twitter
Joel B. Pollak

A group of pro-Israel demonstrators was left stranded in Toronto, Canada, after a bus company abandoned them without warning — the second such incident, after a group of pro-Israel protesters from Detroit was left at an airport in Washington, DC, last month.

The demonstrators — 17 buses out of a total of 70 — intended joining a large pro-Israel protest outside the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa. Video and photographs of the event show a large and enthusiastic crowd, despite snowfall and cold weather in the capital.

But in an apparent repeat of a “malicious walk-off” last month by bus drivers in Washington, who left Jewish demonstrators stuck at Dulles airport rather than allowing them to proceed to a pro-Israel protest on the National Mall, several buses were left behind.

In a press statement, the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, the umbrella body of the community’s leadership, blamed antisemitism for the incident:

We were shocked that, of more than 70 buses UJA booked, 17 did not show up. Those 17 buses were the responsibility of a particular sub-contracted company. Despite charging in full in advance and confirming its participation, the company did not send a single bus and has declined all communications while refusing to provide any explanation.

Given the absolute silence of the sub-contractor and with no other explanation, we are driven to the view that this shameful decision is intended to disrupt our peaceful rally out of hatred toward Jews. Just last month, we saw a similar situation take place where antisemitic activists refused to drive Jewish Americans leaving a rally in Washington DC.

What happened today is sickening and outrageous. We will respond aggressively with every legal and public affairs tool at our disposal. UJA is already working with legal counsel and will be proceeding with strong, decisive actions against this company. Hate and discrimination against any community can never be tolerated in Canada.

The UJA made alternative travel arrangements for the stranded protesters to allow as many as possible to continue to Ottawa.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of the new biography, Rhoda: ‘Comrade Kadalie, You Are Out of Order’. He is also the author of the recent e-book, Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 U.S. Presidential Election. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.

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