Several thousand people gathered on Parliament Hill in the Canadian capital last night, demonstrating in solidarity with Israel and calling for an end to anti-Semitic violence.

Dozens of buses were chartered to Ottawa from Montreal and Toronto, home to large Jewish communities.

“It’s so important that diverse parts of our country come together and stand up for the Jewish people… and stand together against hatred of Jews,” Sara Lefton of United Jewish Appeal, one of the groups sponsoring the rally, told AFP.

Many demonstrators wore clothing with the white and blue colors of the Israeli flag.