‘Enough is enough’: Hundreds of Palestinian supporters rally on Parliament Hill

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With chants of, “We are the people, we won’t be silenced,” and, “Stop the bombing, now, now, now, now,” hundreds of people took part in a pro-Palestinian “300+ Days of Rage” march and rally on Parliament Hill on Saturday afternoon, demanding a ceasefire in Gaza.

Mohammed William, who bused to Ottawa from Toronto, said he was taking part to urge the Canadian government to pressure Israel into ending its attacks in Gaza.

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“The Canadian government has already sent $28 million in weapons and weapons components to Israel, and is turning a blind eye to the genocide, and we’re here to see an end to the genocide and a lifting of the siege on the Gaza Strip, as well as the recognition of a Palestinian state and sovereignty, and an immediate arms embargo between Canada and Israel.”

According to Associated Press reporting, Israel’s campaign in Gaza had killed more than 39,790 Palestinians as of Saturday and wounded more than 92,000 others. Those figures, according to AP, are from the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza. The war was triggered by Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in which militants from Gaza stormed into southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and abducting 250 others.

In March, United Nations special rapporteur Francesca Albanese presented a report to the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, saying there were “reasonable grounds” to believe that the threshold indicating the commission of the crime of genocide by Israel had been met. Israel rejected the claim.

One woman who attended Saturday’s rally with her niece, but declined to give her name, was succinct and crisp in why she was there: “It’s been 10 months,” she said. “Don’t ask me why I’m here. Humanity.”

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The crowd, which Ottawa police estimated at between 500 and 600, included many who organizers said came from Montreal, London, Windsor and Toronto.

Also in attendance were three dozen orthodox rabbis, who offered both solidarity and support for Palestinians and opposition to Jewish sovereignty, which Rabbi Dovid Feldman said is forbidden in traditional Judaism.

“All of this is criminal and has to stop,” he said. “Everybody suffers in this endless cycle of bloodshed.

“This isn’t about a difference of religion,” he added. “It’s the occupation of Palestine. We’ve had differences of religion forever and we’ve lived in peace.”

After first gathering on the Hill, the rally marched through the downtown core before retuning to the Hill.

Mahmoud Khalil, who came from Montreal to join the rally, cited the inscription on the Canadian Tribute to Human Rights monument on Elgin Street: “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,” he quoted.

“That’s what we want. But the Canadian government has been failing in delivering human rights or applying human rights to the people in Gaza. Our government is a hypocrite. I mean, if you have an ally or a friend, and you want to be a good friend to that person, then you either lead them on a right path or you pull them away from the wrong path.

“And that’s why we are here; for 300 days of hypocrisy, for 300 days of inaction from this government. We are here to say enough is enough.”

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