Decision to fly Israeli flag, cancel ceremony at city hall gets pushback from both sides

The City of Ottawa has cancelled a ceremony to mark Israel's Independence Day at city hall, but still plans to raise the Israeli flag on May 14 — a decision that appears to dissatisfy people on both sides of the Israel-Hamas war.

The city raises flags for more than 190 countries with diplomatic relations with Canada, and has flown the Israeli flag at city hall every year since 2007, according to Mayor Mark Sutcliffe.

In a written statement Wednesday, Sutcliffe said he is "very disappointed" that the ceremony will be cancelled for what he called safety reasons.

He said the decision was made after consultation with the Jewish Federation of Ottawa and the Ottawa Police Service.

"This decision is based on recent intelligence that suggests hosting a public ceremony poses a substantial risk to public safety," the city said in a statement Tuesday. It did not elaborate on the nature of the threat, and police did not provide comment on anything specific when asked by CBC News.

Sutcliffe called it "another blow" to the Jewish community because of "escalating threats and hostility."

Montreal MP Anthony Housefather, who has repeatedly spoken out against antisemitism, said the decision sends "a terrible signal."

"When you have this type of threat, you amp up security, you take precautions, you move the event to a place that's more secure, but you don't cancel an event that is really important to Canada's Jewish community," Housefather said at a press conference Wednesday.

'Catastrophe' for Palestinians, says group

Human rights advocacy group CJPME Foundation called the decision to still fly the flag "insensitive" and "hurtful" in light of the ongoing war in Gaza.

Jamila Ewais, a researcher with the foundation's anti-racism program, explained that Israel's independence is understood very differently by Palestinians, who instead view it as the beginning of their Nakba. 

The word means "catastrophe" in Arabic, referring to the 1948 conflict that led to the foundation of the State of Israel and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

"The Nakba is something that's continuous, and it's going to this day," Ewais said.

Ewais said it's not antisemitic to oppose the flag raising or the ceremony.

Meanwhile, Ottawa Rabbi Idan Scher said such calls unfairly singles out Israel.

"The city raises flags for basically every country in the world, and yet again the Jewish state is being just dragged through the mud in this case," said Scher with the Congregation Machzikei Hadas.

Scher said he has faced death threats himself, while the congregation's synagogue has been defaced.

"[It's a] sorry day for Canada that the local police feel that there is no way to secure an event for the Jewish community," he said.

"I cannot believe we are at that point."

Sarah Abdul-Karim, who has helped organize protests in Ottawa with the Palestinian Youth Movement, pushed back against possible fears that demonstrators would pose a security risk.

"I think that the Palestinian community has consistently shown that they have engaged in peaceful protesting," she said.

Abdul-Karim said Palestinian groups have seen requests to fly the Palestinian flag at city hall rejected.

She added that it's "extremely insulting and disheartening" for Palestinians to see the Israeli flag in the midst of a war that has claimed tens of thousands of Palestinian lives.

Richard Robertson with the Jewish advocacy group B'nai Brith Canada said the organization was "deeply troubled" to see the city cancel the ceremony.

Robertson said the city is "capitulating to the incitement and the threat being posed by what we consider to be nefarious actors."

City policy cites diplomatic relations

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." 

But it has declined to do so in the past, apparently for political reasons. In 2022, the city denied a request from the Russian embassy to fly Russia's flag and illuminate a part of city hall for its national day.

The Ottawa Police Service did not provide an explanation of the security concerns behind the city's decision.

"We continue to work with all stakeholders to ensure safety at community events, including demonstrations," police said in a statement.

"Our safety plans are scaleable and adaptable to current needs."