Anti-Israel graffiti cleared from Vancouver’s Burrard Bridge after ‘Walk with Israel’ event

Anti-Israel graffiti made on the Burrard Bridge prior to Sunday's 'Walk With Israel' event was being cleared by the City of Vancouver Sunday evening.

A clean-up operation is in place to remove anti-Israel graffiti spray painted on the Burrard Bridge prior to the annual “Walk with Israel” event on Sunday.

The event, which sees demonstrations and protests occur throughout the country to show support for Israel and the Zionist Jewish community, started at 11 a.m.

Prior to that, multiple bridge beams had been defaced with “Gaza” spray painted in red, along with phrases like “F*** Israel.”

Maria Kleiner, event organizer for the walk, called the graffiti hateful, and said it was “hurtful” to the dozens of people who had set out Sunday morning to embark on their planned, peaceful walk.

“The graffiti is pro-violence, so obviously it is very unpleasant to see,” she said.

Kleiner said the group carried out the walk as planned and it “went well” despite the obvious attempt to hinder the event.

“We were in really good spirits with our friends from other communities, the Iranian community, the Indian community and the Christian community. They all came to support us,” she said.

“We are very grateful for that, so in a sense it still ended on a positive note.”

In a statement Sunday evening, the City of Vancouver said a graffiti removal crew was deployed to the defaced section of the bridge Sunday afternoon, and a “removal is currently underway.”

“While the City of Vancouver recognizes the right to free speech and peaceful protest, we as a city do not tolerate acts of hate or discrimination,” the statement said.

According to the city, the majority of graffiti is removed during regularly scheduled, ongoing patrols of Vancouver.

While graffiti removal requests placed through the city’s 311 line are typically responded to within a week, there is an expedited response process for hate-related or racist graffiti, which is removed within 24 hours.

Residents are encouraged to report graffiti on public property through our Van311 app or by calling 311 and can call 911 if they see vandalism in the act.