Just days after the city announced it was cancelling an event to mark Israel’s Independence Day next week, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe said he’s asked city officials and the chief of police to find a way to hold an event safely after all.
“Like all residents of our city, Ottawa’s Jewish community deserves to gather whenever it chooses in an environment that is free from hate, violence, and racism,” Sutcliffe said in a media statement Friday. “This is fundamental to a city that is free and democratic.”
On Tuesday, the city said the event planned for city hall on May 14 was being called off on the basis of “recent intelligence that suggests hosting a public ceremony poses a substantial risk to public safety.”
Sutcliffe said on Wednesday that he was “very disappointed,” but noted that the decision was made in consultation with the Ottawa Police Service. The cancellation prompted outrage from Jewish leaders and MP Anthony Housefather, who said it sends a terrible signal.
Mayor asked police for security plan
In his Friday statement, Sutcliffe said “everyone should be able to hold events in public spaces without fear of threats or intimidation.” He noted the city’s Jewish community has faced increased levels of antisemitism.
“I’ve asked the chief of police and city officials to work with the Jewish Federation of Ottawa on a plan for an event to mark Israel’s Independence Day while protecting the security and safety of everyone involved,” he said.
Sutcliffe did not immediately say where the ceremony might be held, or how it would be secured.
Pro-Palestinian advocates have noted Israel’s Independence Day is understood very differently by Palestinians, who view it as the beginning of their Nakba, an Arabic word that means “catastrophe” and refers to the mass displacement of Palestinians at the time of Israel’s founding in 1948.
They also objected to the city’s decision to fly the Israeli flag at city hall on May 14, even without the ceremony, especially in light of the ongoing war in Gaza.
The city’s flag policy states that it “will fly the flag of any nation on its national day with whom Canada has diplomatic relations.”