Montreal adopts 'diluted' Palestine motion, rejects push to become first N. American city to cut Israel ties

Canada's Montreal City Council passed a revised Palestine solidarity motion on Monday evening after amendments removed key calls to suspend or sever institutional ties with Israel, despite calls to reject Israeli apartheid and recognise the three-year war in Gaza since 7 October 2023 as genocide. 

Had the original proposal passed, Montreal would have become the first major North American city to take such action. 

The city's ruling party, Ensemble Montréal, introduced significant amendments to the motion, initially put forward by opposition municipal party Projet Montréal. 

The amended motion placed greater emphasis on diversity and inclusion in Montreal while removing most references to genocide and calls to sever ties with Israel. 

However, it reaffirmed the council's "solidarity with the Palestinian people" and with civilian victims of conflicts in the Middle East, as well as its commitment to international law.  

In addition, the final version of the motion was amended to highlight condemnation of the 7 October attacks on Israel, and stated that Jewish and Israeli people in Montreal must not be held responsible for the actions of the Israeli government.  

It also condemned antisemitism, Islamophobia, racism and all forms of hate. 

The revised motion called on Canada's federal and Quebec provincial governments to demonstrate “greater leadership” towards peace through diplomacy and sanctions against those responsible for violations of international human rights law. 

This contrasted with efforts to have Montreal sever institutional ties with Israel.  

Those demands included divestment from Israeli entities and companies that proponents argue contribute to apartheid and genocide, a boycott of Israeli representatives and increased support for Palestinian refugees amid continuing attacks on Palestinians in Gaza and the occupied West Bank. 

A United Nations commission concluded in September 2025 that Israel had committed genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.  

Major international human rights organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have also published findings accusing Israel of genocide or acts of genocide in Gaza. Israel is currently facing proceedings in the International Court of Jutice after a genocide filing by South Africa in December 2023.

The Quebec Artists' Anti-Apartheid Club, a group comprising more than 700 artists, cultural figures and culture-focused organisations, also expressed their “full support for the motion of solidarity with the Palestinian people” in support of the proposal initially put forward by Projet Montréal. 

Following several amendments to the opposition party's original proposal, the motion was adopted with 54 city councillors voting in favour and six against. 

The New Arab contacted Montreal City Council for comment but did not receive a response by the time of publication. 

In a statement following the vote, Official Opposition Leader Ericka Alneus described the motion as a "historic gesture". 

Alneus had simultaneously expressed disappointment over the amendments. 

"I will not hide my disappointment at the major modifications imposed by the administration, which significantly diluted our intention," Alneus said, emphasising that elected officials must remain consistent when addressing human rights. 

The office of Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada issued a statement, saying the administration had proposed amendments aimed at "turning this motion into a call for unity, respect and dialogue, reflecting the values that make Montreal strong." 

Speaking to The New Arab, Zev Saltiel, a member of Independent Jewish Voices Montreal and Montreal Anti-Apartheid, outlined the campaign's goals and the significance of the original municipal motion, which sought to suspend institutional ties with Israel. 

Saltiel said campaigners had hoped that, if the proposal passed, it could have encouraged other major cities in Canada and across the United States to take similar action, potentially continuing "until Palestine is free". 

He also pointed to Montreal's historical role in the anti-apartheid movement, noting that the city was among the first cities globally to cut ties with apartheid South Africa in 1987, a move he said contributed to the eventual dismantling of the apartheid system. 

"Montreal is home to the third largest population of Holocaust survivors. We have an incredibly large Jewish community here, and so we are particularly well positioned to cut these ties and to show a precedent that this is not about anti-Semitism, but it is about cutting ties with governments," he added. 

The Canadian activist said demands to sever ties with Israel would also include no longer inviting Israeli representatives to city events or council meetings, prohibiting elected officials from accepting paid trips to Israel, ending municipal collaborations and potentially divesting from contracts with companies deemed complicit. 

He said that such measures would have been "a step towards breaking the ties that the city actively contributes in when linking the state of Israel and the Jewish community".

Saltiel continued: "[The Israeli government] do not have a global support for this like they have had for the past 78 years, and if we showed we are not okay with what is happening, by eventually not receiving support and funding, then this has to stop, right?” 

“Hopefully, we can see those walls fall, and we can see a liberated Palestine."