The eight Jewish Canadian women who were arrested while holding a protest inside the Israeli consulate have been released.
The RCMP arrested and handcuffed the women, who were staging a sit-in protest against the ongoing Israeli assault on Gaza inside the consulate at 180 Bloor St. W. The women were held briefly inside a paddy wagon, but were not charged and were released.
A paddy wagon with the women inside drove past a group of chanting protesters outside the consulate just before 1 p.m.
Included in the group were Israeli peace activists, filmmakers, the president of Science for Peace and a variety of students.
“Israel purports to represent all Jews worldwide and these atrocities are not being committed in our name,” said spokesperson and filmmaker Cathy Gulkin, standing outside of the consulate.
She said the point of the protest was to draw attention to the fact that not all members of Toronto’s Jewish community support the agenda of the Israeli government.
