Drum corps calling for violent revolution, speeches explicitly praising the Oct. 7 massacres, an illegal speaker system broadcasting 'Zionists are terrorists' throughout the downtown
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The Oct. 7 massacre was openly celebrated in front of Parliament Hill on Saturday, as part of a massive anti-Israel demonstration that also included a full drum corps calling for “intifada revolution.”
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“What we saw on the seventh of October, and what we continue to see every day since is the amazing bravery and resilience and resistance of the Palestinian people to take every step necessary to liberate every Palestinian prisoner from the jails of the Zionist regime,” said speaker Charlotte Kates to cheers from the assembled crowd.
Kates is the co-founder of the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, a Canadian-headquartered group that was recently banned in Germany due to its openly pro-Hamas stance, which German legislators denounced as “antisemitic” and “inhuman.”
Since 2022, Kates has also been banned entry into the European Union, due to Samidoun’s close ties with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine — a listed terror group whose members participated in the Oct. 7 massacres. Research by Israel’s Ministry of Strategic Affairs has even called it “likely” that Samidoun is directly funnelling Canadian donations into Gazan terrorism.
Nevertheless, Kates was a featured speaker at the Saturday rally, where she delivered multiple calls praising the “armed resistance” in Gaza. She delivered her speech from a lectern installed in front of the Peace Tower, and was flanked throughout by men whose faces were shrouded by red keffiyehs.
Keffiyeh face-coverings were similarly present on the members of a drum corps that could be seen leading chants of “there is only one solution; Intifada revolution” — an explicit call for Israel’s violent destruction.
Just the weekly chants justifying the murder of Jews that Canadian Jews have had to become accustomed to due to the lack of leadership from our politicians on all levels pic.twitter.com/dYH5VdKEF3
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“All the Zionists are racists, all the Zionists are the terrorists,” went another chant broadcast through commercial speaker units that were installed on scaffolding erected in the middle of Wellington Street, the road immediately running in front of the Parliament Buildings.
Chris Dacey is an Ottawa-area carpenter who was among the Freedom Convoy demonstrators evicted from Downtown Ottawa two years ago. He documented Saturday’s rally by video in part to draw a distinction between its treatment by Ottawa authorities and the treatment of convoy protesters when they convened for an anniversary rally last month.
In a Monday podcast appearance, Dacey said, “Their speaker system was loud enough that you could hear it clearly from blocks away. It was loud.”
Dacey also noted the frequent use of “shut it down” chants. “They’ve proven, again and again, that they’re capable of shutting down whatever they want in Ottawa,” he said.
Palestinian demonstrators have taken over Wellington Street and are setting off smoke grenades.
They have a massive sound system built on scaffolding in the middle of the road and they are calling out @JustinTrudeau, saying that he is complicit in genocide. pic.twitter.com/9Avwt1hwAO
The rally was officially known as the National March on Ottawa for Gaza, which organizers billed as the “largest pro-Palestine protest in Canadian history.” “SHUT DOWN THE CAPITAL FOR GAZA!” was the tagline advertised by organizer Montreal4Palestine.
Although the prime target was Israel, organizers demanded that Canada sever all conceivable ties with Israel and treat it as a pariah state. “Canada continues to support the apartheid state, making it complicit in the ongoing genocide against Palestinians,” reads one call-out for the March 9 event.
The demonstration reportedly featured just one Canadian flag, and it was held by a solo protester who had apparently come to the Hill to lead an unrelated protest against Bill C-63, the Liberals’ proposed Online Harms Bill. A video shot by Dacey showed the man surrounded by a group of four demonstrators clad all in black and with faces covered by gas masks.
Promotional videos for the march showed small children in keffiyehs leading anti-Israel chants, including, “Netanyahu you can’t hide,” and, “The young haven’t forgotten and we will return.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/C4J4mO3gSnl/?hl=en
Ottawa Police were given advance warning of the demonstration, and instituted street closures and parking bans across the Ottawa core in response. “Commuters may wish to consider alternate routes where possible,” read an official public alert to Ottawans.
But demonstrators were apparently able to overwhelm police cordons, march down unapproved routes, climb onto the roofs of neighbouring buildings and also set off a stream of smoke bombs.
“Once again, Ottawa continues to face challenges for how to maintain the peace during protests,” was the review of Ottawa city councillor Sean Devine. “The scale of these events is not something that Ottawa Police or the City of Ottawa can be expected to manage.”
Devine uploaded the comment alongside video of “Palestinian spider man,” a man in a Spiderman costume and keffiyeh face-covering who climbed to the top of the Bank of Canada museum to set off a green smoke flare.
Spiderman sits atop the Bank of Canada Museum with a green smoke device.
Below, thousands of protesters participate in the National March on Ottawa for Gaza. #cdnpoli #Ottawa #Palestine #Israel#Gaza #ProtestMania pic.twitter.com/FIaWw1AzQi
Bus travel to the capital was coordinated by the groups Toronto4Palestine and Montreal4Palestine, both of whom are open advocates for Israel’s violent destruction, and have been behind many of the blockades, boycotts of Jewish stores and disruptions that have characterized the Canadian anti-Israel cause since Oct. 7. For Montrealers, for instance, $45 purchased a round-trip coach ticket to the demonstration.
The demonstrations yielded no response from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who was often a personal target of speakers. “Justin Trudeau, you’re complicit in a genocide,” went one amplified chant that could be heard across much of the downtown core.
But on Monday, Trudeau issued a public statement that mirrored one of the demonstration’s demands for an immediate Israeli ceasefire that would have the effect of leaving Hamas in control of the Gaza Strip.
https://www.instagram.com/p/C4T98rFJ4tu/?hl=en
“As Muslim communities begin observing Ramadan tonight, I know the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is weighing heavy on their celebrations,” he wrote in a social media post. “I’m reaffirming Canada’s call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, and for aid to reach civilians in need — without delay. I’m reaffirming Canada’s call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, and for aid to reach civilians in need — without delay.”
One of the protest’s other demands would actually be fulfilled by the Trudeau government even before the demonstration had a chance to begin.
Last week, an early call-out for the National March on Gaza would state that it was being organized in part to demand “immediate reinstatement of UNRWA funding.”
Canada had suspended UNRWA funding last month following the release of evidence that multiple UNRWA employees had allegedly participated in the Oct. 7 massacre, with hundreds more Gazan employees accused by Israel of working as terror operatives. But Ottawa restored funding on Friday, saying it was satisfied with pledges from UNRWA that they would strengthen oversight.
According to an “inclusive” new measure proposed by the Ottawa-Carleton District School Board, graduating may no longer be a requirement to attend a graduation ceremony. In fact, the word “graduation” itself appears to be too problematic. The proposed measure would abolish graduation ceremonies and replace them with “commencement” ceremonies at which “students of all levels of achievement will be able to cross the stage with their peers.” This would include students who have failed. Or, as the district puts it, “may not have completed all the requirements for a move on from secondary school.”
Conservatives are rapidly approaching a 50 per cent voter share in polls, which would effectively move them from the current projection of “Conservative supermajority” to “Conservative hypermajority.” A new Mainstreet Research poll has the Tories at 46 per cent against 25 per cent for the Liberals and 15 per cent for the NDP. When those results are modelled, you get things that haven’t happened in a generation, such as most Vancouver ridings going Conservative, and Tories capturing every single seat touching Quebec City.
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