Members of two Jewish groups were reportedly struck with balloons containing what appeared to be urine at a Pride march in Canada at the weekend.
The suspected attack came after organisers of the Fierté (Pride) Montreal parade announced their intention to ban two Jewish groups from joining the event, citing the event’s "zero-tolerance policy for hate speech and incitement to violence”, before U-turning.
The two groups – Ga’ava, Canada's largest Jewish LGBT+ organisation, and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), the biggest representative body of Canadian Jewry – were reportedly asked not to attend Sunday’s parade, before the decision was reversed.
Police arrested a 35-year-old woman for armed aggression at the event after she allegedly threw a container of liquid at members of the groups, according to local media.
The liquid thrown “smelled like urine,” an attendee named Adam told the Montreal Gazette.
Adam, who did not want to disclose his full name, said he was hit by a liquid-filled balloon while marching with Ga’ava and CIJA.
“While my back was turned, I felt something hit me on my left side that was wet,” he said.
At first he thought the liquid was water, “and then the smell hit”.
He continued: “I turned around and I saw that the SPVM [Montreal police] and one of our security guards had the person on the ground.”
Adam told the paper he later saw a balloon on the ground, and the liquid struck two other people directly.
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