The Passions Unleashed by Dominating Hatred

"[The Al Quds Day rally has] long been a venue for antisemitism, hatred, intimidation and the glorification of terrorism."

"While the judge cited Canada’s Charter of Rights and Freedoms, when we talk about rights we need to be clear that every person has the right to safety and security."

"We need to be clear that no one in Canada has the right to incite violence or free licence to intimidate and hate."

"I won't stop working to put an end to the hatred and division that runs too rampant on Canada's streets." "I won't stop working to protect the greatest province in the greatest country in the world."

Ontario Premier Doug Ford 

 

"The Attorney General has known for at least a year that the Al Quds rally would take place around this time. The Attorney General relies on statements made by protest organizers that date back to 2016. The province of Ontario did not pass any laws or regulations to deal with this event. It did not invoke the Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act, R.S.O. 1990, c. E.9."

"Even allowing for rapidly moving current events, the Attorney General should not have come to court mere hours before the rally was set to start. There was no possibility of cross-examination on any of the affidavits and the oral argument was necessarily truncated. Such a compressed timetable puts the court in a difficult position."

"There is no evidence that participants at last year’s rally incited hatred or engaged in hate speech. There is no evidence before me of any criminality arising out of this rally in the past, much less evidence that could satisfy me that there is a ‘strong case’ that there will be criminal activity this year."

Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Centa 

Protesters and counter-protesters demonstrate by the U.S. Consulate during a rally for Al-Quds Day in Toronto, on Saturday, March 14, 2026. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sammy Kogan

 

"It was a political show by Ford. He doesn't need any court order. He's a premier and he has a duty, he has power and full authority to implement the law."

"If Ford, [Prime Minister] Mark Carney, Toronto police, [Toronto] Mayor [Olivia] Chow, they don't want to do their job, we the people ... have the duty to stand."

Salmon Sima, Iranian refugee, Canadian activist  

The Premier of Ontario tasked his attorney general to seek a court injunction against the annually ritualized Al Quds Day taking place in Toronto. The injunction application stated: "There is a serious risk of violence arising from or occurring at the rally", including mischief, intimidation and in the process ignoring Criminal Code hate laws that include public incitement of hatred, or wilful promotion of antisemitism. Rally organizers along with the Al-Quds Committee, the Palestinian Youth Movement, Lebanese4Palestine and the Canada-banned terrorist group Samidoun linked with the PFLP were sued by the Province.

Al-Quds Day is a creation of the  Islamic Republic of Iran, dating from the 1979 revolution when the Palestinian 'cause' was taken up by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. Quds, the Arabic name for Jerusalem, the contested ancient city of Judean ancestral heritage claimed by the nascent state of Arabic 'Palestine' as their capital, championed by the Iranian regime, became the purpose of the annual rally, a disguised scheme to invalidate Israel's claim to the city and to portray Israel as an interloper, not the rightful claimant through ancient indigeneity. 

Wherever Islamists have settled in the West they subscribe to this historical revisionism and mount such an infamous rally in world capitals.

On Saturday, 14 March, in Toronto, an estimated 4,500 people turned out to the pro-Palestinian rally with a double purpose this year, a protest against the U.S.-Israel bombardment of the Islamic Republic, that very regime that two months earlier slaughtered tens of thousands of Iranian protesters who marched for the end of the regime in cities across Iran, only to be met with armed police action shooting protesters to death, arresting untold numbers to be tortured in Iran's hated prisons. 

 

This is the country that has the Middle East and the West on edge over their nuclear program and medium-to-long-range missiles.

 

A counter-protest also took place outside the U.S. Consulate in Toronto Saturday. (Mercedes Gaztambide/CBC)

 

A counter-rally was staged by Iranian Canadians opposed to the Islamic theocracy that has transformed their country of origin into a pariah in the Middle East and abroad for its broad range of human rights crimes, its well-known support for terrorism and its control of terrorist groups in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria and the Palestinian Territories. Both supporters of Israel, Canadians of Jewish extraction carrying Israeli flags and Iranian Canadians carrying the original flag of Iran under its dynastic Shahs were present to wave their Canadian flags in allegiance to the country which under the Liberal government appears to be signalling that allegiance is now misplaced.

 

Mere days following shots being fired at the U.S. Consulate at University Avenue and Armour Street, the Al-Quds rally attendees made their presence known. They stood on the south side of Armoury Street, holding up Palestinian flags and calling for an end to the war in Iran. On the opposite, north side, counter-demonstrators waved Israeli, pre-Revolutionary Iranian and Trump 2028 flags, along with Canadian flags. 

 

The Al-Quds crowd held up large banners with the insignia of the Islamic Republic of Iran. On this occasion, Iranian regime flags outnumbered those of the Palestinian flags, mourners carried portraits of the Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and protesters urged support of retaliatory attacks on Israel from the Islamic Republic that has always outwardly threatened to destroy the Jewish state. 

 

This display of pure, unadulterated hatred for Israel's right of existence, inflamed by the support of terror against 'colonialism' and 'unjust wars', aiming directly at Israel's right to defend itself from existential threats represents the sole purpose of such events. And Iranian Canadians will have none of it, knowing all too well that it is that state theocratic regime that has destroyed their country.

Unit: Hate Crime Unit

Case #: 2026-538606

Published: Sunday, March 15, 2026, 10:32 AM

The Toronto Police Service is making the public aware of two arrests made at the Al-Quds Day demonstration. 

On Saturday, March 14, 2026, the Al-Quds Day demonstration took place in the University Avenue and Armoury Street area. In addition to those attending the Al-Quds Day demonstration, counter-demonstrators were also present. During two unrelated incidents, two men were arrested. 

It is alleged that:

• the accused, a male participating in the counter-demonstration, engaged with the victim, a participant in the Al-Quds demonstration, who was holding a stick with an Islamic Republic of Iran flag attached
• the accused began swinging his arms and fists at the victim, breaking the stick and causing pieces of it to strike the victim in the head

Mostafa Shabanian Bashmandoost, 39, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with:

1. Assault
2. Criminal Harassment
3. Theft Under $5000
4. Possession of Property Obtained by Crime Under $5000
5. Public Incitement of Hatred

He is scheduled to appear in court at the Toronto Regional Bail Centre, 2201 Finch Avenue West, on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at 10 a.m., in room 105.

These investigations are being treated as suspected hate-motivated offences.

 

Farshid McVandifar, 56, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with:

1. Mischief – Damage Property Under $5000
2. Assault

He is scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice, 10 Armoury Street, on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, at 11 a.m., in room 203.

It is further alleged that:

• the second accused, a male participating in the counter demonstration, followed the victim, a participant of the Al-Quds demonstration, who was wearing an Islamic Republic of Iran flag on their back
• the accused spat on the victim and ripped the flag off their back
• the accused returned into the crowd and was later located among the counter demonstration group
• the accused was then observed to be lighting an Islamic Republic of Iran flag on fire and wearing Islamic Republic of Iran flags attached to the soles of his shoes.

As usual, when police attend to these events, it is those who are victimized, threatened through the intimidation of double-speak that are driven to respond with action that reflects their outrage at the malice directed against those who subscribe to liberty and the defence of  human rights, who are held accountable for disturbances, rarely those who mount such radicalized pure-hate events whose purpose is achieved through the police applied courtesy of enablement... 

Toronto police said Thursday they planned to increase their presence in the area of the rally. (Mercedes Gaztambide/CBC)

 

 

Just Some Girls Out for a Night of Fun and Entertainment

"None of you are going to be leaving anytime soon."

       "We can't leave?"

"There is an ongoing investigation about an incident at York and University [streets, Toronto]."

"Somebody was stabbed and he's dead."

       "He's not dead."

       "That was not us."

"None of you are leaving until we sort things out."

        "[Is it a] boy [or a] girl [who's dead]?"

        "I didn't kill nobody."

        "Yo, it was f---ing this b---h right here."

        "Nobody killed nobody are you crazy?"

"You're being arrested for homicide."

Body-worn video footage officers of the Toronto Police Service

The girl entered a surprise plea in February as she and another teen were being tried for second-degree murder in the death of 59-year-old Kenneth Lee in December 2022. The attack allegedly involved eight girls. (Toronto Police Service)

 

In Toronto, December 17/18, 2022, eight girls ranging in age between 13 to 16 made the front pages of newspapers across Canada, and the news made its appearance in international media as well, spreading the shocking disbelief that teen-age girls harassed, swarmed, beat and one among them fatally stabbed a homeless man in a girls'-night-out escapade. Kenneth Lee, a homeless man, living in the city's shelter system, was sitting beside a female acquaintance when they both were surrounded by the girls, who appeared to make a move to grab a bottle of alcohol from the woman, and Mr. Lee tried to protect his friend.

 

That turned the attention of the girls from the woman to the man. This was 59-year-old Kenneth Lee, who died suddenly in a parkette, bothering no one, carrying on with his life in a way that circumstances led him to, when fate placed him before a group of rampaging female teens who were out to entertain themselves that night. With the girls was a recent acquaintance, a 16-year-old boy, who during the latest trial of the girl who struck the fatal blow gave his testimony of the night as he perceived it. In Canadian law minors under 18 cannot be publicly named.

"I've been in policing for almost 35 years and you think you've seen it all."

"Anyone who isn't shocked with hearing something like this has clearly just thrown in the towel and just said that anything is possible in this world. "

"Eight young girls and most under the age of 16. If this isn't alarming and shocking to everyone, then we're all in trouble quite frankly."

Detective Sgt. Terry Browne of the Toronto Police Service Homicide Squad  

The girls, it seemed to him, were not their usual selves; they had been drinking and smoking weed. The girl accused of the deadly stabbing of Mr. Lee had a knife with her. And after the swarming attack, during a play fight between the group that they seemed to frequently enjoy indulging in on their nights out, the girl who had stabbed Mr. Lee, injured him. "I put my arm up, the knife went in", he said. The boy was taken into custody at the Yorkdale subway station; he and several of the girls were chasing one another playfully up and down the platform.

 

After the attack that victimized Mr. Lee leaving him bleeding to death, the group of teens were seen on video footage loitering downtown in an office lobby on Bay Street, taking videos of themselves laughing and dancing. It was at this time that the girl accused of the stabbing mimics stomping motions toward the cellphone camera, red bloodstains seen on her grey sweatpants. She was referencing having stomped on Kenneth Lee during the swarming attack, before stabbing him. She was 14 years old at the time, 16 when the case when to trial.

 

As Mr. Lee was backed into a concrete planter in the parkette, she was seen on an earlier surveillance video leaping with both feet, appearing to stomp on Kenneth Lee. An hour after the swarming, just after 1:00 a.m. the teens returned to Union Station for more playfighting. At one point in the video the boy was seen bent over, the girls gathering around him. "Wrong movements at the  wrong time", he said of having been stabbed while play-fighting.

 

His forearm had been sliced through by the knife. The girls helped him back into the station, brought his injury to the attention of security guards, called 911 to say their friend had been stabbed. Then they followed the boy to Sick Children's Hospital for treatment of his bloodied wrist, where it was stitched up. He testified that he too had been drinking and smoking weed, and perhaps it had affected his memory of that night.

 

While the girls were in the lobby of SickKids, officers began arriving to investigate them, at around 3:00 a.m. The girls were not informed straight off they were being scrutinized, nor did they cue into the fact that the police were there because of their presence, wanting to determine whether they were involved in the death of the homeless man. Finally one of the girls asked an officer if she could talk to someone in the hospital lobby, and the girls understood something was wrong when they were told they were being detained. 

 

In the end, although Ontario Superior Court Justice Philip Campbell declared that it hadn't been proven beyond a reasonable doubt the girl dealt the fatal slash to Kenneth Lee, that she had the state of mind for murder during the attack, he was led to find that "This was a manslaughter, and was very close to the most serious example of that offence, but it was not a murder", delivering the verdict. While he could not exclude the possibility the girl was responsible for the fatal wound, he could not conclude she had possessed a knife. She had disposed of the knife and was in possession of a small pair of scissors. 

         "Is it a Chinese man?"

"It's a very serious matter. I'm gonna read you your rights in the car, OK?"

"My job here is to find out exactly what happened."

          "Do I have to answer?"

          "I can't look at people when I talk to them ... It makes me uncomfortable."

"Do you want to just tell me what happened?"

          "I want to see what happened [via the video]. "I remember, but just don't remember."

"He dies after this, from what happened to him. He suffered stab wounds ... Did you stab him?"

          Silence 

Detective leading prison interrogation 

"She had a weapon and a demonstrated willingness to use it against Mr. Lee."

"She was pressing hard to get close to Mr. Lee, scissors in hand. Her animus toward him was high. She made a distinct upward gesture with the hand holding the scissors [referencing how he perceived the video]."

"It is the inconsistency between the wound and the weapon, and the inability to eliminate
conclusively a wound by another person using another weapon, that leaves me undecided as to who stabbed Mr. Lee in the heart, and how."

"[Watching the video of the attack left him] struck by the irrational viciousness [of the group's
conduct and the girl's use of the scissors as a weapon]."

"Yet, this does not lead me to the conclusion that she had the state of mind for murder. The word 'murder' is not a shorthand for an extreme level of moral failure or a high degree of viciousness." 

Ontario Superior Court Justice Philip Campbell  

Ken Lee, centre, seen here with his family, was stabbed to death during a swarming in downtown Toronto on Dec. 18, 2022. Photo by Handout

 

"Girls" Out On a Swarming Adventure

"I've been in policing for almost 35 years and you think you've seen it all."

"Anyone who isn't shocked with hearing something like this has clearly just thrown in the towel and just said that anything is possible in this world. "

"Eight young girls and most under the age of 16. If this isn't alarming and shocking to everyone, then we're all in trouble quite frankly."

"[All eight suspects had] played a role [in Lee’s death]."

"I won't say what each one individually did, but all eight were together and participating in this event, which is disturbing."

Detective Sgt. Terry Browne, Toronto Police Service Homicide Squad  

Toronto Police Service

"Hearing something like that and the people who were involved, it’s just something that’s completely beyond my understanding."

"I get people coming in with all kinds of injuries from being beat up by complete strangers. This isn’t something that’s new, it’s ongoing, but I see it more and more."

"I think there’s just so much hatred and dehumanization of people who are unhoused."

Diana Chan McNally, harm reduction case manager, All Saints Toronto

Toronto Police said Ken Lee died in hospital after he was allegedly swarmed and stabbed by a group of eight teenage girls in mid-December. Toronto Police Service

 

In Toronto, in December 2022, 59-year-old Kenneth Lee was the victim of a swarming. He was with a female companion at the time a group of teens approached them with the intention of taking a bottle of liquor away from the woman, homeless like Mr. Lee. As things became violently physical, Mr. Lee attempted to protect his companion. Which is when the vicious venom of the group of teens turned on him with a vengeance, resulting in the man's death. 

 

At the time, police contended that the teens, from homes across the Greater Toronto Area, had proposed an outing after meeting on social media.

 

Of the eight  young girls involved in the homicidal altercation at a parkette, three had had previous interactions with police and five others were unknown to police; their identities cannot be revealed, due to their minor age, in accordance with Canadian law. The girls are just now being tried in a court of law; the wheels of justice turn slowly in Canada with courts quite simply understaffed and unable to keep up with the cases awaiting trial. 

 

Two of the girls involved in the fatal swarming are on trial for second-degree murder. Both have pleaded guilty to manslaughter. One of the girls held to have fatally stabbed Ken Lee is awaiting an end-of-May verdict. Her lawyers for the defence contend it was not she who delivered the blow causing Mr. Lee's death; they argue it is not possible to know of a certainty based on available evidence, exactly who it was who stabbed Lee, or at what point during the violent altercation that took place that fateful day in Toronto.

Footage of the fatal swarming had been captured on security video, serving as a central piece of trial evidence. In the video, the girl on trial this past Friday -- 16 at the time in that downtown Toronto parkette in December 2022 -- was seen throwing a traffic cone at Lee, and then using another traffic cone to bludgeon him as he attempted to defend himself against the group's onslaught.

 

When paramedics arrived at the scene soon after the attack, one of the paramedics testified later that he did not immediately realize that Lee had been stabbed, until he collapsed. An autopsy found that death occurred from shock as a result of blood loss after the man was stabbed in his heart. A smaller stab wound and a range of bruises and other injuries were also identified. Taken to St. Michael's Hospital in the early hours of December 18, 2022, Kenneth Lee died on the operating table.

 

Eight girls were eventually arrested, all between the ages of 13 and 16, and charged with second-degree murder. Six of the girls pleaded guilty to lesser charges -- four to manslaughter, one to assault, and one to assault with a weapon and assault causing bodily harm. The girl now awaiting a late-May verdict attempted to plead guilty to manslaughter but her plea was rejected by the Crown. 

 

As for the girl who faced a judge on Friday, who had pleaded guilty to manslaughter in February, the Crown and defence are asking the court for a sentence of 15 months of probation. 

"Ken was a kind soul. He would help anyone in need, whether a close friend or just an acquaintance. Last fall, he was experiencing some bad luck and he left home determined to get his life back on track."

"We ensured that he knew we were always here for him and were waiting for him to return home. He wanted to resolve his issues independently, and we understood and respected his wishes."

"Ken died a hero. Our family is currently in the process of planning funeral arrangements and will provide more information once the details have been confirmed."

Helen Shum, relative of the victim, January 2023

Ken Lee, centre, seen here with his family, was stabbed to death during a swarming in downtown Toronto on Dec. 18, 2022. Photo by Handout /

Perspectives In Faith

"In our ongoing efforts to foster positive interfaith relations, uphold Canadian values, and combat hatred in all its forms, we wish to bring to your attention the scheduled participation of two speakers."

"We have come across troubling information regarding antisemitic messages shared by both individuals [Imam Yasir Qadhi and Imam Omar Suleiman]."

"Hatred has no place in our society, and it must be addressed unequivocally. We strongly urge you to reconsider and revoke the invitations extended to these speakers due to their public expressions of antisemitism."

"Their presence at the convention could further divide Canadian society and undermine the goodwill we strive to build among our communities."

Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation and Tafsik Organization

"Speakers included in the program are recognized for their scholarship, their adherence to law, and promotion of moral values. RIS organizers and speakers are clear in our stance against hate in all forms, including but not limited to islamophobia, antisemitism, racism and xenophobia."

"[Invited speakers agree to adhere to a conference instruction package that includes:] We will not allow for any speech that can be deemed as hate speech to b e expressed from our platform and request your support in making sure that all remarks are carefully expressed. Also, any support to organizations that are listed by the Canadian Government as 'Terrorist' or are 'Banned' in Canada, will not be permitted."

"While we understand that speakers invited may have made statements in the past that may be concerning or controversial, our team has verified that those do not reflect current views and have since been clarified and/or recanted."

Reviving the Islamic Spirit (RIS) organizers

Imam Yasir Qadhi and Imam Omar Suleiman. Photo by LM Otero/AP; Geoff Robins/CP, File

 

"My track record for the last two-and-a-half decades speaks for itself, and I have worked with many groups, Christian, Jewish and nonreligious, in many aspects of civic society and interfaith dialogue."

"Additionally, and directly as a result of my own mistake, I have been a very vocal critic of antisemitism, and have continuously educated the Muslim community about the dangers of stereotyping and spreading hatred of an entire peoples."

"While I am a critic of specific policies of the country of Israel, even as I criticize, I continuously remind Muslims to differentiate between the policies of a nation-state, and the people who belong to a historic and ancient faith."

Imam Yasir Qadhi, Texas resident, dean, Islamic Seminary of America post-secondary religious school

A large annual convention, titled Reviving the Islamic Spirit has, over its two decades of hosting guest speakers for a large audience, is now acknowledged to be one of North America's largest Muslim meetings. Over the three days of its presentations, 32 speakers are scheduled to present, to an audience expected to be comprised of over 40,000 delegates, to take place from December 20 to December 23 in Toronto. Several of the speakers on the scheduled roster are known to have opinions on women's and gay rights, and to advocate for Sharia law.

Their inclusion on the speakers' platform by invitation has drawn the concern of two Jewish organizations; the Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation, a charitable organization, and Tafsik Organization, a Jewish civil rights group. The two sent a joint letter of concern to the organizers of the annual convention, objecting to the participation of two American speakers in particular: Imam Yasir Qadhi and Imam Omar Suleiman. In their response to the letter, the RIS conference organizers assured the letter-writers that their concerns have been taken seriously, but that they are confident the speakers' list will pose no problems.

Imam Qadhi, while agreeing that 23 years earlier he denied the Holocaust, but he has since learned about it, recanted his former position and apologized. His Islamic seminary education took place in Saudi Arabia (influenced by the Wahhabi ulama), according to  his professional CV, and he gained a doctorate in the United States at Yale University. His ranting anti-Holocaust comments took place in 2001 in London, England and drew outrage at that time. He had remarked that "Hitler never intended to mass-destroy the Jews", while recommending a book on the Holocaust "hoax".

He had, years later, accompanied other imams and rabbis on a trip to the remains of two Nazi concentration camps -- Auschwitz and Dachau -- and felt himself moved by the experience. He responded that he had no intention of cancelling attendance at the conference, one he attends most years, and plans to use the platform "to once again preach tolerance and acceptance of a diverse civil society". As for Imam Suleiman, an American Islamic scholar, and founder of the Yaqeen Institute for Islamic Research, based in Texas, CNN named him one of "25 influential American Muslims", in 2018. 

His online presence is notable for 3.1 million followers on Instagram, and 2.8 million followers on Facebook. He will not attend the conference in person, but plans to appear virtually. "He went on to imply that the decay of food is a blessing resulting from their existence, and later suggested that the Quran uses stories of the Bani Israel to instruct Muslims on moral conduct", the letter pointed out, in response to 2013 comments in discussion of an Islamic hadith about the "Bani Isr'il (Children of Israel)". Imam Suleiman summarized the hadith in a video: "If it was not for Bani Israel, meat would not decay ... food would never become stale".

One of the conference's sponsors in 2012 was a Palestinian aid charity that had its charitable status revoked for funding organizations with links to Hamas, designated a terrorist organization in Canada. That was the year that Justin Trudeau gave a keynote speech at the RIS conference, when he was a Liberal leadership candidate. All of Canada's political parties at one time or another are on record as having addressed the annual conference.

The Metro Toronto Convention Center. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

"CAEF's concern is that speakers with a history of posting or speaking against the Jewish faith or Jews in general, may promote more antipathy toward Jews, here in Canada."

"Antisemitism is on the rise, so it is a serious concern."

Andria Spindel, executive director, Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation

“This is the precise definition of shirk [polytheism] to make a partner along with Allah, Glorified and Exalted be He [GEBH]. And we realize that obviously shirk [polytheism] that is the opposite of tawhid [monotheism] must by necessity and by definition be the most evil of all evils as Jews and Christians are mushrikoon [polytheists] in our perspective of tawhid [monotheism] as we have studied can understand how, and only the Muslims are upon tawhid [monotheism]. And it is also the same reason, or the same principle of tawhid [monotheism] which is the first obligation upon every single human being, that he bears witness and he testifies that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah GEBH. And it is because of this same principle of tawhid [monotheism] that the Prophet, peace be upon him, has been commanded to do jihad. Jihad is a means and not a goal of itself. It is a means to establish tawhid [monotheism] on the land. أمرت أن أقاتل الناس حتى يشهدوا أن لا إله إلا الله I have been commanded to fight the people until they testify لا إله إلا الله there is no God but Allah. So the whole reason why Allah GEBH has created us sent the prophets and revealed the books and differentiated us based upon this principle and allowed for jihad, is the basis and is the principle of tawhid [monotheism]. The life and property of a mushrik [polytheist, also identified as Christian] holds no value in the state of jihad. Make no respect. Notice that I said in the state of jihad, not at all times and places. The life and property of a mushrik becomes ‘halal’ [permissible] while in a state of jihad. The prophet, peace be upon him, said, and I quote the hadith before, ‘I have been commanded to fight the people until they say: ‘There is no god but Allah’ [Islamic creed declaring belief in the tawhid [monotheism], and when they say ‘There is no god but Allah’ [meaning accepting Islam], he went on, when they say ‘There is no god but Allah’ [meaning accepting Islam], their life and property become protected for me. Which means if they don’t say ‘There is no god but Allah’ [meaning accepting Islam] their life and property are halal [permissible] for the Muslims. So the Christians do commit shirk [polytheism], they are ‘kuffar’ [disbelievers] and they are mushrikoon [polytheists]. The mushrikoon [polytheists] are najis [impure, filth], they are filthy. Najasa [impurity, filth]. They are filthy, a spiritual filthiness which can only be purified by the purity of monotheism [tawhid]. Allah calls the mushrikoon [polytheists] najis [filthy] which is a very evil thing. When Allah Himself says the mushrikoon [polytheists] are najis [impure, filth], Allah is calling them najis [impure, filth], they are najasa [impurity], a filthy, impure, dirty substance.” 

Imam Yasir Qadhi

Publicly-Voiced Threats, Privately-enacted Violence

"We understand the fear and pain this causes, especially on Yom Kippur."

"To Toronto's Jewish community, we stand with you. Your safety is our priority."

"We are committed to finding those responsible."

Toronto Police Service

"I think it's very sad that people target schools where children are innocent and just create this extra fear and chaos for no reason."

"I think I would consider this a hate crime. I don't see any other reason why this would occur."

"[It was] pretty shocking [to be informed of the shooting that occurred on Shabbat, the Jewish Day of Rest, on the first occasion of the school being attacked in May]."

Rabbi Yaacov Vidal, principal, Bais Chaya Musha elementary school

"We live in a peaceful society. We've never seen anything like this. We all grew up in Toronto, we all get along, and it's just unacceptable what we're seeing."

"These people need to be caught [and] thrown in Jail."

Ontario Premier Doug Ford

Toronto police searching for suspects who shot at the Bais Chaya Mushka Girls Elementary School in North York early Saturday morning. (CBC)

 

 For the second time in a six-month period this year, Toronto police are investigating the shots that were fired at a North York elementary school for Jewish girls on Saturday morning. A "troubling" incident, according to police. For Jews it was all the more troubling that this second shooting happened during Yom Kippur,(Day of Atonement), the holiest day of the Jewish calendar.

Toronto police had received a call at 4:00 a.m. reporting a smashed window. "Upon further investigation, it was determined that shots had been fired", explained Inspector Paul Krawczyk at the scene, speaking to reporters. The Hate Crime Unit is supporting the TPS's Gun and Gang Task Force, leading the investigation. Police, advised Insp. Krawczyk, were yet to determine whether the incident qualified as a hate crime.

On the first occasion in May, shots were fired at the school, damaging the front of the building; on both occasions no injuries were reported. Police advised that their investigation was partly to determine whether the two shooting incidents that took place at the Orthodox Jewish girls' school located in North York, with programs from junior kindergarten to Grade 8, were connected. 

 

"As we wait for more details, my heart goes out to the students, staff and parents who must be terrified and hurting today. Antisemitism is a disgusting and dangerous form of hate -- and we won't let it stand", declared Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who for over a year has stood by and done nothing to put a halt to the ongoing marches, protests and pure hate-fests against Canada's Jewish population by pro-Hamas supporters at events organized by Palestinians in Canada, their supporters and representatives of foreign interests.

 

Yet another hypocritical statement of empathy, care and concern emanated from Toronto's mayor of all the people, Olivia Chow, who spoke to reporters, while advising the suspects to "turn yourself in". "Understand that this is a time of the highest holiday, and think about children, think about a time of worship. For someone to do something like that is just horrific", she averred; the very person in authority in the city who has avoided scenes of support for the Jewish community against the forces of Islamist-led violent antisemitism. 

Police inspect broken windows at Bais Chaya Mushka elementary school Saturday October 12, 2024. The Jewish girls' school was shot at for the second time this year on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the year for Jews. CTV

 

Canada Cosseting Extremist Islamists

"When officers were chasing some protesters, two Molotov cocktails were thrown in the direction of police."

"They didn't hit them."

Jean-Pierre Brabant, Montreal Police spokesman

"A demo for Palestine attacked Concordia University Sunday evening. Many windows of luxury stores on Sainte-Catherine street were also broken."

"The police were kept at a distance with the help of molotov cocktails."

Clash MTL anarchist group

Maintenance workers board up broken windows at Concordia University's Hall Building in Montreal Monday Sept. 30, 2024. The windows were smashed during a pro-Palestinian demonstration Sunday evening. Photo by John Mahoney /Montreal Gazette

"We express our deepest mourning & our highest salutes to the great leader, the martyr, inspiration of so many around the world, symbol & strategist of resistance, tireless anti-imperialist, anti-colonial liberator, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah."

Samidoun statement

In Windsor, Ontario, the Ahlul Bayt Mosque advertised an event for Sunday to "commemorate the martyrdom" of "The Great Martyr Sayed Hassan Nasrallah". This is the broken Canada of today where, although the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas, just like the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, clients of the Islamic Republic of Iran, are officially listed as proscribed terror groups, their flags are flown in Canadian cities where pro-Palestinian protests take place, and Canadian Islamists mourn the passing of arch-terrorists as 'martyrs' of 'resistance'.  

Contrast that with the news of this arch-terrorist's death coming as a profound relief -- leading to hope for a new day to dawn without the malicious threats of psychopaths that roil the world order as they scheme to destroy Israel and set out on missions to slaughter Jews both in the Jewish state, and elsewhere across the globe -- to many Arabs in Syria and Lebanon who suffered from Nasrallah's malign agenda, and above all, to Persians in Iran for whom their theocratic government is a despised dictatorship.

 

Smashed windows in downtown Montreal on Sept. 30, 2024, a day after a protest. (Martin Daigle, CityNews)

 

But in Canada, given the inaction of the government of Justin Trudeau, the pro-Islamist, anti-Israel protest contingent, having suffered no lawful penalties of any substance, continue to feel emboldened to use louder, more violent tactics in their persecution of Canadian Jews. Extremist Islamists and their enthusiastic supporters for whom antisemitism is a cause they revel in, the lack of lawful intervention in their chaotic and threatening rallies has served predictably, to convince them there will never be any penalties for their unlawful, anti-human-rights bedlam.

They have graduated to attacking police as they wave the flags of terror organizations while promoting the destruction not only of Israel, but Canada, as well. Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante condemned "unacceptable" behaviour of yet another anti-Israel protest on Sunday when protest thugs took to breaking windows and tossing firebombs at police attempting to restore order.

Montreal's central core saw a group of some 60 protesters setting off fireworks, breaking shop windows, spray-painting graffiti on buildings. Saturday saw downtown Toronto facing a demonstration with thugs there hoisting the flag of Hezbollah, listed by Canada as a terror entity. The English-language state media outlet of the Islamic Republic of Iran carried the Toronto protest live on Press TV. Its correspondent Firas Al-Najim stated it is only as a result of the "Zionist lobby's" influence that Hezbollah is labeled a terrorist group.

 

Protestor waving smoke at protest on Saturday in Toronto. (OTR/Laviza Syed)

 

Mask-wearing protesters carried portraits of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, assassinated the day before by an Israeli airstrike, some wearing green headbands reflecting Hamas. A banner read Long Live Legal Armed Resistance to Occupation, an inverted red triangle on the banner; the triangle associated with Hamas which has popularized it as symbolic of its intentions as a marker identifying Israeli targets. 

Samidoun, based in Vancouver as a non-profit, has direct ties to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, yet another and even older active Gaza terrorist group, which on October 7 of 2023 took part in the Hamas-led surge of terrorists into southern Israel bound on a mission of savage atrocities. Samidoun issued a mourning message for the death of Hezbollah's Nasrallah; unsurprisingly since its co-founder refers to members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad as 'friends and brothers'; yet the Liberal government takes no steps to outlaw it in Canada, much less withdraw its charitable status.

A masked speaker in front of the Peace Tower on Parliament Hill tells a cheering crowd that they will fight until "this country crumbles to the ground." Photo by X.com/@l3v1at4an

This Is Not Paranoia -- It Is Terror

"I feel that I'm in Germany in 1937. I know for sure I've been targeted. Somebody came just for my car. And for us, obviously."

"We're all in shock. When I came to Canada over twenty years ago I couldn't realize we would face a real pogrom ... in Canada, where everybody used to talk about multiculturalism and love to each other. Never ever have I experienced so much antisemitism as I'm experiencing now."

"It's hard to verbalize my feelings, my fear. And I've never been a fearful person. I've always stood for the right thing on the right side of history. But today I am scared."

"Because they know my address, I don't know what to expect tomorrow. Maybe somebody will come during the night and set my house on fire. Maybe somebody will wait for me in the park when I'm walking the dog. Honestly I'm shaken."

"I don't know how can we leave the house, how can we go somewhere. I don't know how to live, how to breathe. We are in shock."

Victoria Adamov, Toronto resident

A clip from a home security camera shows one of two vandals breaking the car's windows. Photo by Victoria Adamov

Victoria Adamov lives not in a particularly Jewish section of Toronto but one she describes as a "mixed-culture" neighbourhood. All the more convenient for anyone out to harass and terrify Jews to distinguish her family's presence, particularly with the declaration on her bumper of her alliance with and  allegiance to, Israel as the sticker of an Israeli flag attests. Originally an immigrant from Ukraine, she and her family moved to Israel were they lived for a decade before moving again, to Canada. Where fully half of Canada's Jewish population lives.

And where an ongoing 'pro-Palestinian' protest parked itself over the Avenue Road 401 bridge leading to police closing down access while monitoring a clearly illegal presence of protesters interfering with free access on municipal property to tax-paying citizens. A protest where calls to destroy Israel could be chanted through the phrase  'From the river to the sea' with its transparent message. And where signage could be seen with not only the Palestinian flag, but one of the criminally outlawed PFLP (Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine) terrorist group was also on view.

This was no 'pro-Palestinian' protest but an anti-Jew provocation that the Toronto Police Services allowed to go unchecked day after day. A mere one-kilometre distance from nine synagogues serving the Jewish community that was targeted by these hate groups. There also are a number of Jewish schools, community centres, day-cares and Jewish owned businesses close to the bridge location. Where recently one nearby deli-grocery was torched, the message 'Free Palestine' grafitied over its front entrance. One Temple is clearly visible from the overpass.

Ms. Adamov lives near Dufferin and Steele Streets north of Toronto on a quiet cul-de-sac along with her husband, 13-year-old son and two of their pets. Not a Jewish neighbourhood. Their home security camera revealed a dark car driving up at 3:27 a.m. and two masked figures with gloves and hoods leaving their vehicle to approach that of the Adamovs where they smashed the windows of the Toyota in the driveway, then punctured its tires before leaving. None of the house residents were alerted to anything amiss.

 

The vandals broke all the windows on the car but took nothing   Screen shot

 

A neighbour walking by the next morning texted Victoria after noticing the damage to the family car. York Regional Police were alerted and an investigation is now underway. Police, according to a media release, are searching for three suspects, one the driver of a dark-coloured Jeep Grand Cherokee. "The Hate Crime Prevention Unit has been notified and a hate crime investigator is on the case", notes the police release, including a link to the security camera video.

When Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, Adamov explained, she placed a Ukrainian flag on her car in solidarity. "And it was absolutely no problem. But as soon as I identify myself as belonging to Israel, here is the problem." She feels singled out as a result of the attack, although she has never argued with anyone online, nor has she ever done anything, she points out, that would make enemies. "I think it's pointless to argue with people who have different opinions." Canada, she feels, is lax in safeguarding the safety of its Jewish citizens.

"I didn't have any conflicts I just had an Israeli flag sticker on the back of my car."

"As long as our prime minister doesn't say anything, it will be worse, and it's getting worse by the minute. They used to talk about Islamophobia all the time but nobody's talking about antisemitism, nobody says it's zero tolerance to antisemitism. What are they waiting for? Till somebody will be murdered?"

"I want my voice to be heard. This nonsense must be stopped. High levels of government must act now. Tomorrow it's going to be too late."

Victoria Adamov

Photo by Buongiorno Principessa/Twitter

Pro-Hamas Protests Target Toronto's Jewish Community

Photo by the group Palesign documenting a blockade of the Avenue Road Bridge in north Toronto. Photo by Veronika Sykorova

 

"[There have been] brazen attacks on synagogues, Jewish schools and businesses [across the the city]."

"This hate-motivated arson is yet another direct assault on Canadian values, pluralism and the rule of law -- inciting violence singularly because of one's faith."

"Call it what it is: antisemitism."

MPP Stephen Lecce, Education Minister, Ontario

"Based on the quality of circumstances, we believe that it was committed with bias or prejudice."

"This is not graffiti on a bus shelter. This is not a lawful protest protected by constitutional right. This is a criminal act. It is violent. It is targeted. It is organized."

"We will leave no stone unturned."

Staff Superintendent Pauline Gray, Toronto Police Services

"[These types of incidents leave people feeling shaken and] diminish our sense of safety and belonging."

"All residents of Toronto deserve to be safe and feel safe."

"As Mayor, let me be clear: acts of antisemitism, hate and violence are not welcome here."

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow

"[Politicians must] speak out forcefully, and take action, against the increasing intolerance targeting Jewish-owned businesses and predominantly Jewish neighbourhoods that we are witnessing on a regular basis."

Steven Del Duca, Mayor, Vaughan former leader Ontario Liberal party

"[The graffiti] confirmed [the suspected arson's] links to the anti-Israel mob."

"This escalation of lawlessness in #Toronto must come to an end."

James Pasternak, Toronto city councillor

Toronto firefighters are shown here at the scene of a fire at North York business early Wednesday. (CBC)

 

So very, very heartening for the Jewish community in Toronto and elsewhere across Canada to know that area politicians are aware of and averse to the divisions within society, stemming from the 'pro-Palestinian' mobs that descend day after day on city streets, bridges, in front of government buildings to shout their 'from the river to the sea' slogan, along with 'gas the Jews', 'intifada' and other cries to appeal to the hate festering in the minds of immigrants from Muslim countries and their enablers who set out to vilify Israel for defending its citizens against murderous terrorist groups.

Like the mob that has assembled day after day on the overpass on the city's main traffic artery, the 401 highway, leading to the heart of Jewish Toronto. The Jewish-owned deli-grocery that was firebombed is about a kilometre distant from the overpass. It doesn't take a genius to turn over a rock to understand that the nasty little slugs slithering out from under are part of that raucous hate-filled mob expressing their vocal antisemitism for all to hear. Nor does it make sense for the very police who vow they will leave no stone unturned, helpfully standing alongside the pro-Hamas protesters to ensure their safety.

That politicians are rallying to condemn antisemitism so viral and lethal it sparked a fire and left graffiti identifying the event with the 'pro-Palestinian' protests, is interesting, but thus far no politician, from the mayor to the provincial premier to the police services have made any move to put a stop to the ongoing racially motivated provocations that have interrupted peoples' lives, caused physical harm and created a terrifying situation for the Jewish population.

According to Toronto police statements they are investigating the fire set at International Delicatessen Foods that broke out on Wednesday, as "motivated by hate", and it certainly takes a genius to arrive at that conclusion. This is a grocery business specializing in European foods, quirkally occasionally printing its menus in Russian language. Its windows were smashed and the shop was defaced with "Free Palestine" graffiti. Some might surmise that the sign over the front entrance reading IDF initials signifying the Israel Defense Forces drew the attention of the arsonists.

 

The business's name is displayed as the acronym 'IDF' in large red letters above the building's entrance. (CBC)

 

The shop owner located in north Toronto, informed Mike Colle, deputy mayor for north Toronto that he had concerns for his family's safety. He also spoke of his business set-back where it could take months of restoration before the business could reopen. Leading Mr. Colle to state that the arson strikes at the city's Jewish community's fears of their security in the face of violent antisemitism. Musing on the human cost of "appalling" hate-motivated violence. So city authorities are cognizant of the problem but haven't seen their way through to stemming it.

According to Toronto police, a major increase has been seen in hate-motivated crimes fuelled by tensions related to the Israel-Hamas war, where between October 7 and December 17, ninety-eight hate crimes were reported, in comparison to 48 for the same period a year earlier. Of the total, 56 were antisemitic in nature, 20 considered to be anti-Muslim.

 

Ya'ara Saks, the federal Liberal minister of mental health and addictions, whose own government under Justin Trudeau has done nothing whatever to take steps to put a stop to the Palestinian program of slandering Israel by accusing it of genocide, and chanting provocative slogans whose meanings are all too clear, that Israel should be destroyed, himself said "with each brazen act of incitement and of violence, the cycle of antisemitism and hateful acts increases", and it most certainly does.

"This leaves everyone in the Jewish community feeling unsafe. Am I going to be the next target? Are my family members going to be a target? This is just so unacceptable."

"This is the product of weeks and weeks and weeks of hateful rhetoric being spread by hate groups operating here."

Jamie Kirzner-Roberts, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs

According to officials, police and firefighters were called to the scene at about 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday. When firefighters arrived, they saw smoke coming from the rear. Fire crews entered the building and quickly extinguished the blaze. (CBC)

Peace Activists, Above The Law

"Throughout, York University has consistently emerged as an unambiguous focal point. It was the York Federation of Students that issued a statement in the immediate aftermath of the massacres deeming them a 'justified and necessary' act of 'resistance'. 'Chant sheets' distributed by the federation at protests also contain calls of 'long live the intifada!'; a reference to violent Palestinian uprisings against Israel."

"York University law faculty were disproportionately represented in a mid-November petition asserting that the massacres should be 'contextualized', rather than condemned."

"And CUPE locals representing York University staff have issued multiple statements accusing Israel of 'genocide' and 'apartheid', while making no mention whatsoever of the Oct.7 massacres that sparked the current conflict. 'We remain dedicated to fighting against Canada's own settler-colonial violence' reads one comment [from the union]."

Tristin Hopper, Journalist, National Post

 

"We know that fighting antisemitism requires fighting anti-Palestinian racism and all forms of interlocking oppressions; none of us will be free until all of us are free."

Naomi Klein protest faction advisory 

Red paint and posters on an Indigo bookstore in Toronto accusing CEO Heather Reisman of "funding genocide." Photo by Photo by Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre

Three York University staff members were arrested by police connecting them with vandalism of an Indigo bookstore in Toronto. They wore reflective vests and splashed red paint on the flagship store for the very particular purpose of accusing its CEO Heather Reisman of "funding genocide". Posters were pasted to the windows with that neat little accusation. In total, eleven people were arrested for what police deemed "hate-motivated mischief".

 

Following the arrests when names were released, three were identified as employees of York University. One, an associate professor. This was obviously publicity the school was less than pleased with, responding by placing the three on leave. A statement was released by the administration to the effect that its commitment to "free speech and open dialogue" did not embrace unlawful violations.

 

This led to 200 faculty and students walking out, characterizing the suspensions as "an effort to repress Palestine solidarity peace activism". The walkout was organized by a "coalition of York faculty", which took to carrying signage and distributing pamphlets for the walkout reading "Stop campus reprisals! Reinstate them NOW! Permanent ceasefire NOW!" 

 

 

"Canada Stop Arming Israel" banners were carried by protesters who massed outside the Toronto Police 52 Division downtown location with demands that the charges be dropped. Social activist Naomi Klein is set to head another demonstration outside the Indigo location at Bay and Bloor streets to put up additional posters denouncing "police intimidation tactics against peace activists". 

The protesters insist that the use of posters and ed paint to accuse a bookstore CEO of genocide is perfectly "legitimate and necessary" and should, moreover, be defended by administrators at York University. "Many faculty members are outraged that the administration has suspended these individuals rather than defending them publicly", huffed York  University associate professor Anna Zalik who specializes in critical development studies.

Indigo has been targeted by the Canadian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement meant to boycott any business enterprise with connections to the State of Israel. Reisman co-founded the HESEG Foundation, a Canadian-registered charity funding tuition of former "lone soldiers", foreign volunteers who join the Israeli Defense Forces.

This, according to the logic of the demonstrators, makes Indigo complicit in "war crimes", a "genocidal campaign" and "profiteering from Israeli war crimes". The Toronto police were denounced for "grotesque use of inflammatory language accusing the vandalism of connections to hate". The assertion is sanctimoniously put forward that simply accusing Israel and its supporters of genocidal war criminality cannot be interpreted as antisemitic. How can anyone reason with such logic?

On Nov. 10 the Indigo store at the intersection of Bay and Bloor streets in Toronto was found splashed with red paint and plastered with posters featuring the company’s CEO and founder, Heather Reisman.  Adam Cohen