A Montreal lawyer has lodged a hate crime complaint following an incident at a Palestinian rally in Halifax. Dan Goldstein, 51, and his wife, Liat Lev-Ary, both Jewish, were confronted by a demonstrator who shouted, "Heil, heil, heil" at them during their visit to Nova Scotia.

The couple traveled from Montreal to explore the area. On August 6, after visiting the Halifax Public Gardens, they attempted to reach a restaurant using their phone's map. This route led them directly through the rally. Goldstein later recounted, "It took us right through the rally."

Lev-Ary recorded a video showing protesters with signs and Palestinian flags. The footage also captured Goldstein expressing his views, stating, "Remember the Bibas family, don’t forget them with the people of Gaza. And don’t forget the hostages." His comments referenced the Bibas family, who were kidnapped during the October 7 attacks by Hamas. The father was released, but the mother and their two young children were killed.

Initially, the exchange between Goldstein and the demonstrators was civil. He noted, "They started shouting things like Israel is committing genocide. I disagree, but there’s nothing illegitimate about (saying) that. That’s up for debate."

However, the situation escalated when a man approached them and shouted the Nazi reference. Goldstein described the comment as a clear invocation of Nazi ideology, stating, "It’s an endorsement of Nazi ideology and (Hitler’s) ‘Final Solution’ to exterminate all Jews."

After the incident, Goldstein approached two Halifax police officers nearby to report the hate crime. He expressed frustration when the officers seemed indifferent, asking how the comment could be considered a hate crime. "Do you not know what saying ‘Heil’ to a Jew means? And they said no," he recalled.

A third officer arrived, but Goldstein claimed he was met with hostility. "He’s yelling at me. He’s calling me a racist," Goldstein said. Despite the initial response, he and Lev-Ary later went to a police station to file a formal complaint. He noted that the follow-up discussions with other officers were more constructive.

Halifax Regional Police stated they could not comment on the case due to resource constraints from a nearby wildfire. Goldstein expressed disappointment with the initial officers but appreciated the follow-up. He provided the police with the video evidence and hopes for a thorough investigation.

Goldstein also shared his views on the broader context of the protests. He criticized the actions of the protester while acknowledging his own concerns about Israel's actions in Gaza. "On the one hand I’m familiar with genocide, I don’t consider it a genocide. But on a very objective level, there are war crimes that are being committed and I am very frustrated," he said.

He emphasized the importance of distinguishing between legitimate criticism of Israel and antisemitism. "Hearing somebody come up to me and go ‘Heil’ is very — I can’t think of other words — but it shakes me to my core because for me it’s the fact that yeah, it’s 80 years later, but I don’t have family because (several ancestors died in Europe during the Nazi Holocaust)," Goldstein said. He reflected on the lasting impact of such ideologies on his family history.