Something that ‘smelled like urine' was thrown at Jewish participants in Montreal Pride parade, they say

Montreal Gazette

4 days ago

By
A 35-year-old woman was arrested for armed aggression Sunday after police say she threw a 'container containing a liquid' at participants of the Montreal Pride parade.
The woman targeted members of two Jewish groups marching in the parade — Ga'ava and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs — a participant told The Gazette. The liquid she threw 'smelled like urine,' he said.
Ga'ava and CIJA's planned involvement in the parade had been a source of controversy in the run-up to the event. A competing Pride parade, Wild Pride, also ran Sunday. Many of its organizers, including pro-Palestinian Jewish group Independent Jewish Voices, shunned mainstream Pride events out of objection to the inclusion of groups supporting Israel amid the war in Gaza. Fierté Montréal, which organizes the Montreal Pride parade, had initially booted Ga'ava and CIJA off the roster, accusing the groups of 'spreading hateful discourse.' Organizers reversed course days later, following criticism that included a letter signed by five MPs.
Adam, who asked The Gazette not to use his last name, said he was struck by what he believes was 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,' Adam said. He said he first thought it was water, 'and then the smell hit.'
'I turned around and I saw that the SPVM and one of our security guards had the person on the ground.'
Adam said he later saw a balloon on the ground, leading him to believe that the perpetrator had thrown balloons filled with urine. The liquid struck two other people directly, he said.
'We didn't confirm what type of liquid' struck the participants, Montreal police spokesperson Julien Lévesque said.
Police also wouldn't confirm which group had been struck, only confirming the incident took place during the Pride parade around 3:30 p.m.
'It's hard to imagine that it wasn't targeted' at the Jewish groups, Adam said. 'No other group had pee balloons thrown at them.'
He called the action the result of 'a normalization of radicalization across Canada,' adding that he feared an escalation into more extreme violence.
In a social media post Monday, a group called Faction Against Genocide, in Solidarity said one of its members 'sprayed' Ga'ava and CIJA participants 'with nettle extract,' describing the liquid as 'a non-harmful natural substance that stinks like hell.'
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Faction Anti Génocidaire et Solidaire (@la.fags)
The group said its members had come to disrupt the parade in protest of Fierté Montréal's 'complicity in the ongoing genocide in Palestine,' accusing Ga'ava and CIJA of 'co-opting queer struggles' to support Israel.
The Gazette has reached out to the group for comment.
This story was originally published August 11, 2025 at 4:05 PM.