Mayor pushes police to find safe way to hold Israel Independence Day event

Just days after the city announced it was cancelling a public 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 pushback 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 that has claimed tens of thousands of lives.

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."

'Physical separation' could be an option

Shimon Koffler Fogel, president and CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said his organization and the Jewish Federation of Ottawa were involved in talks with the mayor over the Independence Day event.

"With some creative adjustments, we can go ahead, allow people to gather safely ... while still recognizing that there are going to be those who have an entirely different perspective, who don't see the anniversary of the Jewish state as something meriting celebration," Koffler Fogel said.

He said that could involve "physical separation" between those present for the ceremony and any protesters who might show up to oppose it.

Koffler Fogel said the ceremony should ideally be held at city hall, since that's where all other flag-raising events take place, though he said he doesn't want to "prejudge" the work of police.

"My understanding is that they will come back to the mayor and his staff with a number of options," he said.

"Certainly, the expectation is that they will factor that issue into whatever proposals come forward, and that people will be able to gather, as I think they should be entitled to, as Canadian citizens, to celebrate an event that has very special meaning for them," he said.

"I'm obviously hopeful that we won't experience any kind of direct confrontation."