Hundreds of students walk out of class calling for ceasefire in Gaza

It’s been over five weeks since the beginning of the Israel and Hamas conflict

Since then, numerous rallies have been held throughout Ottawa with demonstrators calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.

On Wednesday, hundreds of students staged a walkout from two high schools in Barrhaven in what was the latest in a growing list of pro-Palestinian rallies.

It was an emotionally charged demonstration, with some of the participants telling CTV News they still have loved ones in Gaza.

“We want a ceasefire. We want peace. We want people to stop dying. We just want our people to live in peace and harmony in Palestine,” said Sara Farajallah, one of the rally organizers.

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“I have a lot of family in Gaza that have been affected. That have been killed.”

As the Palestinian death toll climbs to more than 11,000, calls for a ceasefire are growing louder.

“The first step is to call for a ceasefire. They have announced daily four hour humanitarian pauses, but this is not enough,” said Oussama Marai, one of the rally organizers.

“I believe it can happen if enough pressure is applied by the international community. Not just Canada, but also the U.S. This is a message to Joe Biden as well. This is a message to France, this is a message to the U.K. It’s not just Canada that’s involved. This is an international problem.”

However not everyone agrees with those calls for a ceasefire.

The Jewish Federation of Ottawa is focused on freeing the more than 240 people still held captive by Hamas.

“A ceasefire right now only helps Hamas. Our organization right now is pushing for a release of the hostages,” said Sarah Beutel, Interim CEO of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa.

Complete coverage of the Israel-Hamas war

“There is not one person in our community right now that isn’t horrified by the loss of life whether it’s a person in Gaza or whether it’s a person in Israel. We are never going to say that it is acceptable.”

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau expressed his deepest criticism of Israel since the war broke out.

“The price of justice can not be the continued suffering of all Palestinian civilians even wars have rules,” he said.

“All innocent life is equal in worth, Israeli and Palestinian. I urge the government of Israel to exercise maximum restraint.”

Trudeau’s comments sparked a sharp response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who took to X Tuesday night.

 

 

Organizers of Wednesday’s student protest say they alerted the Ottawa Police Service prior to holding the rally to ensure there was no hateful or anti-Semitic messaging at the demonstration.

"No one here is mentioning anything about hate. We do not want any of that. All we want is to be free,” said Laian Farhoud.

Meanwhile, the Jewish Federation of Ottawa says their community is noticing a rise in antisemitism.

“We’re not hearing any concern about peaceful protests. People are allowed in Canada to protest peacefully. That is not what we’re hurting about,” said Beutel.

“What we at the Jewish Federation are hearing about is the avalanche of hateful actions directed toward the Jewish community in Ottawa and across Canada.”