Israel: 60 years later

They call it al-Nakba - "the Catastrophe" - when 800,000 Palestinians were forced into exile. This week, while Israel Independence Day is fêted around the city and around the world, a number of parallel events are planned to mourn the same occasion.

At 11 a.m. Thursday morning, the March for Israel Independence Day from Phillips Square, organized by the Consortium of Jewish Organizations, will be met by a peaceful counter-rally.

"For a Jew to criticize Israel is not being anti-Jewish or anti-Semitic," says Scott Weinstein of the newly formed Independent Jewish Voices Montreal (IJVM).

"[Israel] established a state based on unequal race laws. Palestinian Arabs had fewer rights. They were second-class citizens," he explains. IJVM demands an end to the siege of Gaza and occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem.

Weinstein says the group is proud of being Jewish. "We say a good Jew is someone who stands up for social justice and human rights for everyone." This year also marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.