Al-Quds Day rally in Toronto took place on June 1, 2019. The speakers at the event were Suzanne Weiss, Ken Stone, Zafar Bangash, Ali Mallah, Nasim Askari, Robert Massoud, Dmitri Lascaris, Ted Schmidt, Leary Charles, Yves Engler and Stephen Ellis who read a statement written by Rabbi Stern from Neturei Karta. Hussein Mojtahedy led the slogans between speakers.
Ali Mallah is a pro-Palestinian activist, member of Toronto BDS Coalition, organizer with al-Quds Day, former Vice-President of the Canadian Arab Federation, CUPE member, Federal NDP Candidate Election 2000 and former Vice President Ontario NDP.
During Al-Quds Day rally, Ali Mallah was interviewed for darstv YouTube channel. Here is the transcript of the interview:
Question: So I’m here with brother Ali Mallah [علي ملاح]. Can you please introduce yourself?
Ali Mallah: Yes,Ali Mallah [علي ملاح], longtime community activist and a founding member of Al-Quds Day.
Question: So if I could just ask you why are you here today?
Ali Mallah: We are here today to stand up for justice for Palestinians, against occupation and oppression, because this is a moral responsibility to do so.
Question: Given that the Deal of the Century [American peace plan] might be implemented and it could potentially be the end of Palestine if it split up to two states, what do you think needs to happen?
Ali Mallah: There will be no Deal of the Century and Palestine will always remain Palestine and it will be free Palestine inshallah [Allah Willing] from the [Jordan] River to the [Mediterranean] Sea despite all of the conspiracy by the local and international imperialistic colonials.
Question: Palestine is being occupied for nearly a century now what do you think needs to happen?
Ali Mallah: To continue the resistance. Yes, it [Palestine] has been occupied for 71 years, but of the Palestinian people never surrendered, never submitted to the occupation and they continued resisting their occupiers. When you see an elderly woman, elderly man, when you see a child, a young girl, you know, hitting the Merkava [Israeli tank] and the military jeep with their shoes with their stones, so you make sure that Palestine will never surrender and will remain free.
Question: And lastly is there anything you would like to say to the Canadian government and the people of Canada?
The Canadian government to its shame for record has not maintained a good balance when it comes to the international issues, especially with Palestine, because they declared that they support Israel, but they don’t support a balanced approach to bring justice to Palestinians.