Boxing Day shopping at Toronto's Eaton Centre was interrupted on Thursday, December 26, 2025, by a group of pro-Palestine protesters. The demonstrators, described by columnist Brian Lilley as "Hamasniks," entered the busy downtown mall, chanting and using megaphones, which disrupted families and shoppers seeking post-Christmas deals and enjoying the light displays.
Chants and Confrontation Inside the Mall
The protest was organized and vocal. Masked individuals used megaphones to lead chants of "Free, free Palestine!" and "From the river to the sea." The latter phrase is widely understood as a call for a Palestinian state spanning from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, which would eliminate the state of Israel. Another chant heard was "Intifada right now," a reference to armed uprisings historically characterized by attacks on Israeli civilians.
Video footage posted on social media platform X showed the protesters moving through the mall concourse. According to Lilley's reporting, there was little to no immediate intervention from mall security or the Toronto Police Service during the event, allowing the disruption to proceed.
Connection to Broader Tensions and Threats
The columnist draws a direct line between the mall protest and a wider pattern of antisemitic incidents and global violence. He references the Bondi Beach attack two weeks prior, where attackers pledging allegiance to ISIS opened fire on a Hanukkah celebration, killing 15 people. Lilley argues the Eaton Centre protest is part of "globalizing the intifada."
The article also notes a rise in local antisemitic acts, including the vandalism of mezuzahs (small Torah scrolls) on the doors of Jewish residents in Toronto apartment buildings earlier in December. Lilley states these acts send a "quick and dirty message; Jews aren’t welcome here."
Police Response and Future Concerns
While acknowledging that some police responses, like established command centres, have been exemplary, the piece is critical of the perceived permissiveness towards protest-related "lawlessness." The central concern raised is an announced plan by protest organizers to disrupt New Year's Eve celebrations in Toronto.
Organizers have threatened to start with a rally at Queen's Quay and then move from there. Lilley characterizes the demonstrators as a group that believes "Toronto should be unlivable until their political demands are met."
The column concludes with a stark warning: if police and political leadership do not address these disruptions, the public may eventually "take matters into their own hands," a scenario described as not ideal but increasingly likely if the situation does not improve.
