Anti-Israel Protesters Occupy Parliamentary Building

Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate outside of the Confederation Building near Parliament Hill during a sit-in styled protest calling for an arms embargo against Israel in Ottawa, on Dec. 3, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Spencer Colby

Parliamentary security officers intercepted 14 people and issued trespass notices after a group of Jews against Israel and Palestinian supporters held a sit-in protest inside an Ottawa parliamentary building on Dec. 3, calling for the federal government to “stop arming and supporting Israel’s genocide.”

Ottawa police were called to support Parliamentary Protective Services (PPS) at a demonstration held by protesters inside the Confederation Building in Ottawa at approximately 8:40 a.m., the Ottawa Police Service told The Epoch Times in a statement. The Confederation Building houses offices for Members of Parliament and federal government departments.

Videos shared online show protesters chanting, wearing shirts with messages such as “Jews say stop arming Israel,” and holding banners with various slogans, including “Jews for a free Palestine,” “Jews demand an arms embargo,” and “Ceasefire now.” More than 100 demonstrators participated in the sit-in protest, according to organizers.

Demonstrators were also seen protesting outside the building.

Rachel Small, organizer for World Beyond War Canada, one of the groups that participated in the protest, said on social media they wanted the government to “take that action to actually cut off the flow of all weapons to and from Israel.”

“It’s the bare minimum they need to do,” she said.

Parliament security officers intercepted and released 14 demonstrators.

“All of the individuals were released unconditionally, however they were issued Trespass to Property notices on Parliament Hill by PPS officers,” said the Ottawa Police Service in a statement.

PPS told The Epoch Times the protest concluded in the morning.

The demonstration’s stated purpose was to occupy Confederation Building, “halting government operations to demand an end to Canada’s complicity in Israel’s genocide of Palestinians,” said organizers on social media.

The protest was organized by Jews Say No To Genocide, a coalition formed by groups such as Independent Jewish Voices, World Beyond War, IfNotNow, Showing Up for Racial Justice, United Jewish People’s Order, and the Jewish Faculty Network.

Jews Say No To Genocide was involved in a pro-Palestinian protest earlier this year outside Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital, which was founded by the local Jewish community. That protest was condemned by a number of politicians, including Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who called it “reprehensible” and a “display of antisemitism.”

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said the group doesn’t represent Canada’s Jewish community.

“Pro-Israel Jewish rally in Ottawa: 20,000 people, no arrests ... Anti-Israel Jewish rally in Ottawa: 100 people, 14 arrests for trying to invade MPs’ offices,” the organization said in a social media post against the demonstrators opposing Israel on Dec. 3.