Marchers supporting Gaza, Israel stage two demonstrations in capital

Published Oct 15, 2023 • Last updated 55 minutes ago • 3 minute read

LEFT: A rally in support of Israel marched from City Hall to Parliament Hill Sunday, Oct. 15, 2023. Speeches and songs of peace and chants of “bring them home” were echoed through the group. RIGHT: A large group organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement, INSAF UO, and the Students for Justice in Palestine Carleton came together on Parliament Hill then marched to the Embassy of Israel on O’Connor Street calling for an immediate end to the bombing of Gaza and a lift of the blockade. Photo by ASHLEY FRASER /POSTMEDIA

Tensions ran high in downtown Ottawa on Sunday as back-to-back demonstrations took opposing sides of the conflict raging in the Middle East.

A late-morning protest on Parliament Hill saw Palestinian supporters make their way to the the building that houses the Israeli Embassy on O’Connor, chanting and waving flags, while an afternoon rally found the Jewish community and its supporters singing peace songs as they marched from Ottawa City Hall to Parliament Hill.

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Among the hundreds of Israel supporters was Lisa Levitan, the award-winning Ottawa teacher who founded the Jewish Educators Group at the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board in response to the rise of anti-Semitism in the school system.

“This isn’t a fancy organization planning an event,” she wrote in a message to this newspaper. “We are Ottawa citizens coming together saying, NEVER AGAIN.”

A rally in support of Israel started at City Hall and participants marched to Parliament Hill where speeches took place Sunday, October 15, 2023. Songs of peace and chants of “bring them home” were echoed through the group Sunday afternoon. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

In her mind, the mission of Sunday’s rally was to bring Jewish and non-Jewish Ottawa residents together in a show of support for Israel. There were songs about peace, and a candle-lighting ceremony at Parliament Hill to commemorate the victims of the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks that sparked the conflict.

The first grandchild of a Holocaust survivor, Levitan said she was angry because too many people fell silent when she expected them to condemn the terrorist attacks that killed more than 1,300 Israelis.

“Witnessing the non-Jewish world go silent feels like a dagger in my heart and soul,” she said. “I never thought I would have to consider that no one would hide me or my family should another Holocaust occur.”

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A large group organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement, INSAF UO, and the Students for Justice in Palestine Carleton came together on Parliament Hill, then marched to the Embassy of Israel on O’Connor Street, Sunday, October 15, 2023. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

For her, seeing some of the protesters supporting Palestinians in the downtown area was an affront.

“Shame on them for celebrating the massacre of innocent civilians,” Levitan said, making it clear that she is not anti-Muslim. “It’s pretty simple really. You either stand with Israel, or you stand with Hamas terrorists.”

Earlier in the day, at the morning protest, titled All Out For Gaza, drew a few hundred supporters to Parliament Hill to call for an end to Israel’s bombing of the Gaza Strip and a lift of the blockades that are preventing food and other essential services from reaching the population.

Organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement and drawing students from both Carleton University and University of Ottawa, as well as members of the city’s Muslim community, the vocal crowd of demonstrators marched to the building that houses the Israeli Embassy on O’Connor Street waving the Palestinian flag and chanting along the way. They were met by a line of police officers at the embassy’s entrance.

The protesters want to stop the rapidly increasing death toll in Gaza, with more than 1,900 Palestinians killed by the shelling in recent days, including more than 600 children.

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A rally in support of Israel started at city hall and participants marched to Parliament Hill where speeches took place Sunday, October 15, 2023. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia

Meanwhile, a major conference on anti-Semitism takes place in Ottawa Oct. 16-17, organized by The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and Canada’s Jewish Federations.

Antisemitism: Face It, Fight It is described as the “first-ever, wide-scale convening of the Jewish community from across Canada focused on mobilizing Jewish Canadians and community allies … to push back against antisemitism.”

Speakers include former Alberta premier Jason Kenney, Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre and NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh, as well as student activist Hannah Alper and social media influencer Hannah Bugas.

Lisa Levitan is also one of the featured speakers.

She is expected to discuss her fight against the rise of anti-Semitism in schools.

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Lisa Levitan took part in a rally in support of Israel on Sunday. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia A large group organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement, INSAF UO, and the Students for Justice in Palestine Carleton came together on Parliament Hill then marched to the Embassy of Israel on O’Connor Street, Sunday, October 15, 2023. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia A rally in support of Israel started at City Hall and participants marched to Parliament Hill where speeches took place Sunday, October 15, 2023. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia A large group organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement, INSAF UO, and the Students for Justice in Palestine Carleton came together on Parliament Hill then marched to the Embassy of Israel on O’Connor Street, Sunday, October 15, 2023. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia A rally in support of Israel started at City Hall and participants marched to Parliament Hill where speeches took place Sunday, October 15, 2023. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia A large group organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement, INSAF UO, and the Students for Justice in Palestine Carleton came together on Parliament Hill then marched to the Embassy of Israel on O’Connor Street, Sunday, October 15, 2023. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia A rally in support of Israel started at City Hall and participants marched to Parliament Hill where speeches took place Sunday, October 15, 2023. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia A large group organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement, INSAF UO, and the Students for Justice in Palestine Carleton came together on Parliament Hill then marched to the Embassy of Israel on O’Connor Street, Sunday, October 15, 2023. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia A rally in support of Israel started at City Hall and participants marched to Parliament Hill where speeches took place Sunday, October 15, 2023. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia A large group organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement, INSAF UO, and the Students for Justice in Palestine Carleton came together on Parliament Hill then marched to the Embassy of Israel on O’Connor Street, Sunday, October 15, 2023. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia A large group organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement, INSAF UO, and the Students for Justice in Palestine Carleton came together on Parliament Hill then marched to the Embassy of Israel on O’Connor Street, Sunday, October 15, 2023. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia A rally in support of Israel started at City Hall and participants marched to Parliament Hill where speeches took place Sunday, October 15, 2023. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia A large group organized by the Palestinian Youth Movement, INSAF UO, and the Students for Justice in Palestine Carleton came together on Parliament Hill then marched to the Embassy of Israel on O’Connor Street, Sunday, October 15, 2023. Photo by Ashley Fraser /Postmedia