Hundreds of Pro-Palestinian protesters gathered at Tomkins Park on 17 Avenue SW on Dec. 10, defying a call by Calgary Police Chief Mark Neufeld to pick what he said was a more suitable location for ongoing Sunday protests against conflict in Gaza.

Until Sunday, the majority of protests in support of the Palestinian people had been held in the downtown core.

Wesam Khaled, an organizer with Justice for Palestinians Calgary, speaking to the hundreds of people gathered at the park, disputed a claim made by Chief Neufeld about communication breaking down between police and organizers ahead of Sunday’s protest.

“You all might have seen this communication from the chief of police that went out to the community yesterday, telling people the police have not approved this demonstration happening in here at 17th, and saying something about communication between them and us breaking down,” said Khaled.

“I have to tell you, I was very surprised to read that because you may not know this, but members of Justice for Palestinians were at the Westwinds police headquarters on Friday for one and a half hours, discussing this event and how to ensure that it goes ahead safely.”

In an open letter posted to the Calgary Police Service’s X (formerly Twitter) account, Chief Neufeld wrote that “over the past several weeks, we have experienced a decrease in cooperation from some of the participants at pro-Palestinian rallies. In one instance, this group engaged in intentionally disruptive behaviour, including blocking roadways and thoroughfares,” the open letter read.

“This Sunday, December 10, 2023, this group insists on going to Tomkins Park, located on 17 Avenue at 8 Street SW, and to march in that area. For a variety of reasons, including concerns regarding crowd size and potential disruption to local businesses, shoppers, and residents, we have clearly communicated that this is not a suitable location.

“We have also continued to state that we are willing to work with community groups to facilitate safe, lawful, demonstrations in locations such as the Municipal and Olympic Plaza, that can accommodate them, taking into consideration the potential for adverse impacts on other Calgarians.”

Previous protests in the downtown core saw Macleod Trail shut down in front of City Hall, and for two weekends in a row, portions of 4 Avenue SE near the Harry Hays Federal Building.

Khaled said that before the demonstration took place on Sunday, organizers went door-to-door to more than 100 businesses located along 17 Avenue SW to engage with the business community.

He said none of those businesses provided any negative responses to a potential protest, with a breakdown of 50 per cent neutral to the protests occurring, and 50 per cent in support of the protests occurring in their neighbourhood.

“Many of these business people in this community, they feel scared to actually talk about it publicly, especially with the damage it could do to a business. But make no mistake, there is sympathy with this in this community. People see the truth.”

He said that the intent of the protests was not to cause any hardships or disruptions to Calgarians, but that this was “a very important cause that the entire world needs to be talking about.”

Demands made of local, provincial, and federal politicians

Among the demands made by protesters on Sunday was for increased political support from all levels of government to pressure Israel into a cease-fire in Gaza.

“What are we here for? We are calling on [Mayor] Jyoti Gondek, [Premier] Danielle Smith, [Prime Minister] Justin Trudeau, and frankly the entire international community to demand a ceasefire. To do what they should have done weeks ago,” said Khaled.

He said that there was a small glimmer of positivity from the decision by Mayor Gondek to not attend an annual Hanukkah Menorah lighting ceremony at Calgary City Hall.

“I wish I could be there lighting a candle with them, but unfortunately this event had a political element to it. It was marketed as a pro-Israel, stand-with-Israel event, and they were selling Israeli bonds. Israeli bonds, those are ones that are funding directly the Israeli genocide in Gaza,” he said.

Khaled claimed that the sale of Israeli bonds was akin to selling bonds in support of Hamas or ISIS, and called it ridiculous, saying that under that context it would have never been allowed and claimed that it was representative of the double standard that Arab people face. Both Hamas and ISIS are listed terrorist entities in Canada.

Organizers of the annual 35th annual Hanukah event raffled off a pair of Israeli Government Bonds, which had been done largely without notice at prior celebrations for more than a decade.

For her part, Mayor Gondek, speaking on Dec. 7, said she has stood with both the Israeli community and the Palestinian community in the shared grief of those who have lost family members.

“In October when the vicious terrorist attack happened in Israel, I attended a service that was for grief and mourning. At that time, I stood strongly with the Calgary Jewish community in their time of grief and I continue to do that. I continue to do that with members of Calgary’s Palestinian community who have lost family members and the resulting war in Gaza,” the mayor said.

“Both of these communities are important parts of our city, and they’re both suffering right now.”

She said that her decision to step away from the annual lighting was due to changes to an agreement between inter-faith leaders to keep the event non-political and faith-based, instead of directly supporting the Israeli state.

“That was an incredibly difficult decision for me to make to step away from attending, but if the politics could be removed from the faith-based celebration, this would be a different situation,” the mayor said.

Organizers say steps taken to minimize disruptions during 17 Avenue protest

Khaled asked demonstrators to ensure that they were walking on sidewalks only and that smoke bombs like those used at previous protests were not used at this one.

“We actually don’t want to block the roadway today because we want traffic to come by and see just how much support there actually is for this cause,” he said.

“We strongly encourage everyone to stay with us, don’t break off from us, don’t go out into the streets. We can’t control you, but you know, we do want to try and keep you safe. So know we’re stronger together.”

Some disruptions occurred briefly at intersections crossing 17 Avenue during the march, as roadways were temporarily blocked off for marchers to cross safely.

Pedestrian traffic along portions of the sidewalk along 17 Avenue was also temporarily prevented during the march due to the number of marchers.

Calgary Police have maintained that illegal behaviour at previous protests had been a result of splinter groups from the main organized protest each week.

The protest route differed from the one that Calgary Police had posted on social media earlier in the day, with the police stating the protest would march to 14 Street SW and back. In contrast, organizers had planned to march west to 14 Street SW, marching east to 4 Street SW, and then back to the park.

Khaled also asked protesters to be aware of what he said were the liberal issuing of stunting tickets by CPS to drivers waving flags or standing up in vehicles.

He took aim at the police, asking for equal enforcement of the law against a pro-Israel car drive protest that was planned for Sunday evening.

A weekend car rally in 2021 held by pro-Palestinian demonstrators against violence in Gaza resulted in arrests, and the issuing of over 100 tickets by police.