Almost 100 anti-Zionist Jewish activists and at least two politicians occupied Parliament Hill’s Confederation Building in Ottawa demanding the establishment of an arms embargo against Israel, according to law enforcement, activist organizers, and local politicians.
Jews Say No To Genocide coalition activists sat in the building on Tuesday singing and raising banners calling for a “two-way arms embargo” – to cease the purchase and sale of military equipment between Canada and Israel.
BREAKING: One hundred of us - Jewish Canadians and allies including IJV members - have occupied a parliamentary building in Ottawa to demand Canada stop arming and participating in Israel's genocide against Palestinians. @JewsSayNo pic.twitter.com/CHyIChIt59
— Independent Jewish Voices (@IndJewishVoices) December 3, 2024
New Democratic Party MPs Matthew Green and Heather McPherson joined the protesters during their sit-in, according to their Instagram accounts.
Fourteen activists were arrested and provided with trespass notices for Parliament Hill when Canadian law enforcement responded to the incident, according to the Parliamentary Protective Service, but were later released without charges.Activist Judy Rebick addressed the protesters in a video published on social media by Jews Say No To Genocide, explaining that she wanted to devote herself to helping others, which to her was the “heart of Judaism.”“I’m a secular Jew – and the trolls say, ‘oh, she’s not really Jewish’ – but I am Jewish, and I was born and raised to know that Jews believe in supporting oppressed people – they don’t oppress them,” said Rebick.The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs condemned the coalition as a fringe group that had tried to “invade” MPs’ offices and argued that it did not represent the broader Jewish community. The sentiment was echoed by Mayor Jeremy Levi from the Montreal suburb of Hampstead, who noted that there were 400,000 Jews in the country and the coalition represented an extreme minority.“Your attempt to distort the voice of the Jewish community will not go unchallenged,” said Levi. “We stand united, unwavering, and resolute in our support of Israel.”
Albanese praises activists
United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese praised the activist coalition, contending that anti-Zionist Jews and Israelis were rekindling interfaith and communal bonds “that existed in the Arab world before 1948.”
"Fighting against Apartheid is not just a struggle for freedom in Israel/Palestine," Albanese said on X. "It is a blueprint for a more peaceful future for all of us."
In March, the Liberal Party-led government passed a non-binding motion calling for a halt to arms exports during the war. Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly later confirmed that an arms embargo would become Canadian policy.