VANCOUVER -  Pro-Palestine protesters gathered outside a Jewish National Fund (JNF) event last night were met with a counter demonstration by Zionists sporting pro-Israeli placards and military paraphernalia.  The standoff was outside the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Vancouver, where the JNF Pacific Region was holding its annual Negev gala fundraiser.

The guest speaker was former Conservative  foreign minister John Baird, who's last act in power was a bill for a publicly-funded campaign "opposing boycotts of Israel, its institutions, and its people." The bill is in keeping with the federal Conservatives' unswerving support of Israeli policy towards Palestine and crackdown on any criticism of Israeli policy or actions.