Toronto's Jewish community is calling for accountability following another intimidating protest where anti-Israel demonstrators marched through residential neighborhoods while police maintained the protesters were exercising their Charter rights.
Confrontation in the Neighborhood
According to witness accounts and video evidence, a group of masked pro-Palestinian protesters broke away from an organized anti-Israel rally on Sunday near Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue. This area has seen frequent anti-Jewish demonstrations since the October 7, 2023 Hamas terror attacks.
The splinter group marched north up Hove Street and across Cocksfield Avenue, where they confronted a woman standing on the sidewalk. Video footage captured by protest observer Caryma Sa'd shows multiple protesters surrounding and taunting the resident.
One protester wearing a red keffiyeh repeatedly called the woman "Zionist" while asking if she "teaches her kids to kill babies." The same individual pointed his finger in her face and declared, "Zionist, you don't own this, this is not occupied Palestine."
Threats and Police Response
The situation escalated when another protester, his face covered with a black keffiyeh, threatened to continue harassing the woman and her family. "That kind of attitude is only going to ensure I stay here all night long," the masked individual told her.
Despite witnesses reporting no police presence during this specific confrontation, Toronto Police spokesperson Nadine Ramadan stated that officers were monitoring the group. In a statement to the Toronto Sun, Ramadan maintained that protesters have a "Charter right" to demonstrate wherever they choose.
"We will continue to uphold the constitutional right to free speech and assembly, and our stance is very clear that those freedoms end when criminal behaviour begins," she wrote.
Community Leaders Speak Out
Jewish advocacy organizations and community leaders have expressed outrage over what they describe as a pattern of intimidation. B'nai Brith Canada's Richard Robertson told the Sun that marching through residential neighborhoods while masked and accosting residents with antisemitic accusations goes beyond legitimate protest.
"Marching through a residential neighbourhood while masked, and accosting residents with antisemitic accusations while they are on their private property, is not what the drafters of our Charter envisioned when they enshrined freedom of assembly as a protected right," Robertson said.
Former Canadian Ambassador to Israel Vivian Bercovici was more direct in her criticism, describing the conduct as "unvarnished, uncontrolled Jew hatred, licensed and emboldened by law enforcement and political leadership at all levels."
Robertson urged city officials and police to take decisive action, stating that such marches "serve no purpose other than to incite and intimidate" and that "the continued corruption of the sanctity of our residential neighbourhoods must end."
