Promoting Harm to Jewish Lives

Chief Myron Demkiw speaks about increased police presence alongside Mayor Olivia Chow.  Photo: Kevin Masterman

 

"[Toronto police will have] an increased presence, both visible and covert, in strategic areas to help keep people safe."

"We have seen an alarming increase in hate-motivated incidents targeting the Jewish communities in Toronto and indeed in cities around the world."

"[Following the High Holy Days], we will maintain an enhanced presence throughout the anniversary of the October 7 terrorism attacks, to help ensure the safety of our communities." 

Chief Myron Demkiw, Toronto Police Service

 

"There is currently no indication of a specific or heightened threat [against the Montreal Jewish community during the upcoming High Holidays]."

"[The measures being taken align with the department's] usual practices around major  gatherings, religious holidays and other significant events."

Service de Police de la Ville de Montreal 

 

"Jewish Torontonians should not need police presence to go to a synagogue or a community centre or simply to live proudly Jewish in our city. But they do."

"In this moment of emboldened antisemitism, Jews, Jewish institutions and even Jewish neighbourhoods are being targeted. It is despicable."

"The Toronto police have also increased the number of officers in the hate-crime unit to investigate major incidents like the cowardly overnight shooting at North York synagogues, and to find those responsible and bring them to justice."

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow 

Quebec RCMP are looking into whether Imam Adil Charkaoui committed a hate crime when he called for the extermination of 'Zionist aggressors'  Globe & Mail

 

What a refreshing change -- from the usual nonchalant inattention given the harassment, threats and thoroughly unsettling behaviour of mobs converging on Jewish neighbourhoods for the past three years -- by municipal authorities. Toronto's mayor demonstrated amply and frequently how far the comfort level of the Jewish community is from her busy schedule, attending all manner of community events in support of ethnic  holidays, group fairs, LGBTQ parades and the like, entirely bypassing any public Jewish-centric events with her august presence.

 

When 'pro-Palestinian' mobs of 'protesters' ranged through the streets of Toronto, including around specifically Jewish neighbourhoods, shouting invective while rallying for the globalization of the 'Intifada', and 'Final Solution', telling Jews to 'go back to Poland', presumably for the Holocaust to re-commence, and focusing on the destruction of Israel through chants of 'From the river to the Sea', neither the Police Service nor the Mayor of that once-great city deigned to pay any attention to restore public order, not even when masses of protesting, anti-Jew Muslims closed off roadways for mass prayer sessions.

 

Adil Charkaoui's speech has drawn broad condemnation from politicians like Premier François Legault and groups like the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. (Adil Charkaoui/X)

 

As for Montreal, where just as in Toronto, university campuses became hotbeds of anti-Jew pressure, harassing Jewish students as well as the Jewish academics on staff, any effort on the part of police was to ensure that Jews were kept at bay lest they incite the mobs to violence; protection and security for Jews the furthest thing from the minds of civilized law enforcement. Montreal and Toronto became the cities in Canada most rife with Palestinian student groups organizing protests with the intention to isolate Jews from the rest of society. 

 

And where, since no authorities saw fit to condemn these actions, much less put a stop to them to restore public order, the malefactors took that as a signal that they could demand that their propaganda be recognized as important and replicated by municipal groups, university administrations, denying the existence of the Jewish state, and demoralizing Canadian Jews in their country of birth. Processions of shouting 'protesters' in front of Jewish old-age homes, synagogues and Jewish parochial schools and hospitals proceeded in defiance of civility and municipal law.

 

Holy Blossom Temple Synagogue, located at 1950 Bathurst St., in Toronto, on July 25, 2025. Photo by Peter J. Thompson /National Post

 

As did the very public boycotting and vandalizing of Jewish-owned businesses, when law enforcement was too busy elsewhere to uphold the law in those events. The  graduation to fire-bombing and shooting at Jewish schools, synagogues and community centres resulted from the progression of events from the subtle to the overt public expressions of Jew-hate since there were no penalties associated with such behaviour. Are Canadian Jews to believe that suddenly municipal authorities have turned the table, at the very time when the federal government whose stance on such issues sets the tone has not? When no such conversion at the federal level has occurred?

 

Now the plans are evidently that Toronto police officers plan to embed themselves within an independent, professional agency -- the Jewish Security Network -- launched by the United Jewish Appeal of Greater Toronto. Imagine that; a year after 7 October 2023 which launched these public protests by Muslim groups in Canada following the Hamas mass butchery of civilian Israelis in southern Israel, Jews were so terrorized in Canada they were forced to launch a protection group of their very own. Just as in years past, Jews in Canada were forced by institutionalized exclusion policies to institute hospitals and universities of their own for their own.

 

In the Jewish religious tradition, the High Holidays begin with the Jewish New Year, Rosh Hashana, followed by the Fast of Gadaliah, then the Day of Atonement -- Yom Kippur -- followed by Sukkot (Feast of Tabernacles). That succession of High Holy Days graduate throughout a period of weeks from September 11 to early October. And because Canadian authorities permitted matters to deteriorate to the degree that Canadian Jews felt so threatened and unwanted that many are leaving the country, police with specialized tactical training and access to patrol rifles will now position themselves outside synagogues in Toronto for the High Holy Days.

 

Quite aside from the fact that synagogues, community centres and schools in Canada have had to go to great lengths to strengthen their own security with fencing, a high level of protective scrutiny, and the hiring of private security guards to protect against the forces of that ancient curse of vile and violent antisemitism that promotes harm to Jewish lives. 

 

Toronto police investigate after two locations of a Jewish-owned bakery chain were damaged early Sunday morning, including one that was struck by gunfire. The hate crime unit and guns and gangs unit are investigating the incidents. Still from video, CBC News

 

Searching for 14-year-old Esti Absent From Her Toronto Home

"It was Friday night. It was cold outside and she left, and it was dark and she didn't have her shoes. Both of her pairs of shoes are by the door. And she doesn't have her phone. Her phone is in the house."

"I don't know who else she might have contact with. I really hope that she's OK and maybe she's just scared to come home and she has friends or someone helping her."

Shira, mother of missing 14-year-old Esther, Toronto 

Toronto Police Duty Inspector Peter Wallace, with Shira and Joseph, the parents of Esther, who is missing, speak to the media outside the Earl Bales Community Centre, May 19, 2026. (Facebook)

 

"We are currently appealing to the public to please check your backyard if you reside in this area, your sheds and also your surveillance camera."

"We are concerned for her safety."

Toronto Police Duty Inspector Peter Wallace 

The Toronto Police Service announced that the search for a missing 14-year-old Jewish girl has been elevated to Priority 1 status and a dedicated phone line has been set up for tips from the public (647-355-4148). The girl has been identified by her parents (whose family name has been withheld for privacy and security reasons) as having been diagnosed on the autism spectrum. Explaining further that the "only reason we're OK saying it now is because she's still missing". Missing, in fact, for over a week. 

 

Police have assured her frantic family that their daughter's disappearance has seen them committing all available resources to finding her. Community volunteers have enlisted themselves in a joint effort to find the girl. Launching a Priority or Level 1 search represents the highest level of police response in cases of missing children. Last seen on May 15 in North York in the area of Earl Bales Park at Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue West, the entire community awaits news of her safe recovery and return home.

 

As well as the concerned local Jewish community volunteering in the search, the Shomrim Safety Patrol, a group committed to ensuring the safety and security of Jewish communities across the Greater Toronto area founded in 2021, has also been involved in the search. At nearby Petah Tikvah Synagogue a command centre has been set up in the parking lot. 

 

Police have deployed a drone along with marine, canine and mounted units in their extensive search for the girl. They have, as well, created a QR code for people to scan and upload any video they may have, that might be of assistance in the investigation. There is, needless to say, an added element of fear when a young Jewish girl is alone and unprotected during this period of  high tension where Jews have become targets of heightened antisemitism and stated threats. 

 

 

"Esti, my love, if you are watching this, please come home. We love you so very much. We miss you terribly. Your family, here, across the country, and around the world, are searching and praying for you every minute. Your friends, classmates, neighbours, and community are all worried about you and hoping to see you safe."

"Please know this dearly: You’re not in trouble. Nobody is angry with you, no matter what has happened. All we care about is knowing that you are okay. If you can contact anyone, family, a friend, police, anyone, please do. We just want to know that you are safe."

Shira, mother of missing 14-year-old Esther 

Protection for Toronto's Jewish Community from Rabid Islamists

"Due to the changing security landscape in Toronto in recent weeks, including increased volatility and heightened fear in our communities, demonstrations  moving into residential neighbourhoods in the Bathurst and Sheppard area presents an unacceptable risk to public safety."

"As a result, demonstrators will not be permitted to enter residential streets in this area."

"[This is a] measured step to reduce the risk of escalation and maintain public safety." 

Toronto Police Service spokesperson Stephanie Sayer

A pro-Palestine march makes its way through Toronto, Sunday, Oct. 29, 2023. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Chris Young

 

The issue of Toronto's Jewish community forced by disinterest from Toronto's mayor to 'notice' the ebbing lack of  safety and security imposed on that demographic by gangs of roving 'pro-Palestinian' demonstrators and the inaction of the Toronto Police Service to rein in the verbal insults and assaults ranging from 'Final Solution!' to 'Globalize the Intifada!' -- and other not-so-veiled threats that arose in the wake of the Palestinian Hamas terrorists governing Gaza committing an unspeakable mass atrocity in southern Israel -- had to wait over two years for action. And the Jewish community is supposed to be grateful that their distress under constant threat from openly-celebrating Islamist violence is finally being partially addressed.

 

Ostensibly the move to finally act to put an end to the mob incursion into streets housing Jewish Torontonians was the result of Jewish community group lobbying. In very fact those community groups pleaded with the municipality, the police, the province, to act in the face of intimidation and threats when the demonstrations first emerged and that was directly after the shocking massacre of Israelis on October 7, 2023. The inaction of authorities at all levels to restore order and security from the federal government on down, was undoubtedly responsible for the kind of escalation that took place with synagogues, Jewish schools and community centres, along with privately owned Jewish businesses being shot at, firebombed and vandalized. 

A  protest at Bathurst Street and Sheppard Ave. West, a Jewish neighbourhood, featured one protester dressed as Yahya Al-Sinwar, the Hamas leader behind the October 7th massacre.  MSN

 

Each time violence erupted, authorities were quick to condemn the events, expressing solidarity with the Jewish community, piously declaiming that 'this (antisemitism and violence) is not Canada'. Yet it is what Canada has become under the watch of the decade-long reign of the Liberal government of Justin Trudeau, followed by Mark Carney. Both of whom have a penchant for bemoaning antisemitism, and never failing to link it with the (to them) equally troubling 'Islamophobia', which in itself is rather absurd, since most of the antisemitic attacks come courtesy of the Canadian Muslim population.

 

The Toronto Police spokesperson explained that legal protests on main streets in the area where the Jewish community in the city is located will be permitted to continue. The same protests that have taken place regularly since the day following the October7, 2023 slaughter of Israelis by Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the PLO's Fatah contingents, led by the master-class terrorist group Hamas, whose charter is dedicated to the destruction of Israel.  

"Our community has consistently refused to accept the normalization of intimidation on residential streets in the heart of a heavily Jewish neighbourhood."

"Around Bathurst and Sheppard, residents, families, seniors, students and community institutions have been forced to contend with repeated demonstrations in spaces where people should be able to live, walk, pray, and gather in peace."

B'nai Brith Canada 

Another Jewish group that had called upon the city and police for attention to the plight of the Toronto Jewish community, stated that the announcement by the Toronto Police Service represented "a meaningful step -- but it must be matched with consistent enforcement and protection for our community." 

"At protests at Bathurst & Sheppard, extremists openly made threats of violence, glorified terrorism, and depicted Jews as sub-human — yet no arrests have been announced. After multiple attacks on our community, many are asking why the law is not being enforced."

"We’re calling on TPS to investigate and lay charges, declare assemblies unlawful when there are activities that promote and incite hate, and make the necessary and critical changes to protect our city."

Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs  

Images of antisemitic signage shared by X user Leviathan (@l3v1at4an) during an anti-Israel protest Bathurst St. and Sheppard Ave. West in Toronto on Sunday, March 15. (Credit: @l3v1at4an/X)

 

There is much to be concerned about.  Days following the U.S.-Israel launch of the joint aerial bombardment of the Islamic Republic of Iran, to destroy its nuclear ambitions by targeting its powerful missile caches, its launch sites, nuclear enrichment sites, leading government authorities and chiefs of its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in an effort to hasten  regime change and rescue the Iranian people from their persecutors while neutralizing Iran's capacity to train, arm and fund its proxy terrorist groups in the Middle East, synagogues were again hit by gunfire in Toronto.

 

Jewish-owned businesses and the U.S. consulate in Toronto were also shot at in demonstrations of Islamist targeting of associates and allies of the State of Israel. In addressing these and allied issues, the Toronto Police spokesperson stated that police officers would provide "clear direction". That anyone who fails to comply with them would face possible arrest for obstructing police.  

"The Toronto Police Service facilitates lawful demonstrations while balancing the rights of participants with the safety of the broader public."

Stephanie Sayer  

Toronto police stand watch near the Al-Quds day protest in Toronto, Ontario, on March 14, 2026.

(photo credit: Geoff Robins / AFP via Getty Images)

 

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)

 

 

Law and Order Impeded by Rogue Police

"It is alleged that these officers have demonstrated varying degrees of criminality and associations to criminal networks."

"We are alleging that some police officers were collecting personal and private information unlawfully and distributing it to members of organized crime, which ultimately resulted in serious harm in our communities."

"[Criminals sought and obtained] confidential information from various Toronto police officers. In some cases, police officers were offered bribes for this information." 

Deputy Chief Ryan Hogan, York Regional Police

 

"In all, three officers and one retired officer have been charged with offences related to unlawful queries and the distribution of confidential, personal information."

"Four officers face bribery charges in connection to this operation." 

"[A plan was uncovered to] support the operation of illegal cannabis dispensaries by accepting bribes to obstruct any possible enforcement action to be taken at those locations."

York Regional Police

 

"[This is] a painful and unsettling moment."

"I was not provided an opportunity to make investigative decisions [impacting] the speed and flow of the investigation."

Toronto Police Service Chief Myron Demkiw  

From left to right: Toronto Police Service Chief Myron Demkiw, York Regional Police Chief Jim MacSween and York Regional Police Deputy Chief Ryan Hogan. The three men spoke at a press conference on Feb. 5, 2026, to announce the arrest of seven Toronto police officers and one retired Toronto officer. York Regional Police

 

An investigation of Toronto police officers of some months' duration was finally wrapped up when an investigation into a conspiracy to commit murder, led to the arrest of seven of Toronto's police officers and a retired officer. Ranging in age from 24 to 57 years, the officers were suspended from duty; in the case of four of those charged, suspension without pay is being sought in reflection of the serious nature of the charges.

 

One officer's charges include drug trafficking (MDMA, cocaine, Oxycodone, Adderall and Xanax) along with trafficking property obtained by crime, leading to a total of 17 charges. A total of eight charges were levied against another officer who faces charges including breach of trust and possession of a prohibited weapon. The investigation led as well to the arrest of another 19 suspects.

 

A conspiracy to murder a member of corrections management working at an Ontario facility was uncovered in June of 2025, which led to the investigation being initiated. Over a 36-hour period, suspects appeared at the targeted man's home on three occasions. Evidence is lacking, according to police, that the corrections member had been involved in criminal activity of any kind. Speculation is that his "commitment to integrity in his position" may have led to his being targeted.  

 

Security camera footage shows a gunman entering a Toronto pub during a mass shooting in March 2025 that was linked to tow truck industry violence. Toronto police arrested 10 people in connection with the incident. (CBC News: The National)

 

Surveillance footage revealed three masked men returning to the residence armed with a loaded handgun, likely intending to commit murder. A vehicle was rammed by the suspects into a police cruiser where officers tasked to protect the victim were at the scene in response to discovering the man had become a target. It was there and then that the three suspects were arrested.

 

Police allege that a Toronto police officer had accessed confidential information unlawfully relating to the victim, giving it to a key figure within a criminal network who forwarded the information on within the network. At a later time, three other suspects who were part of the murder plot were also arrested. A number of serious criminal acts were identified by police which included seven shootings in York Region. A suspect could be seen shooting in residential neighbourhoods in one surveillance video.

 

 Police uncovered a plan led by a key figure in the criminal network to "support the operation of illegal cannabis dispensaries by accepting bribes to obstruct any possible enforcement action to be taken at those locations". One of the criminals the investigation revealed was affiliated with the tow  truck industry, long plagued with violence and extortion in the Greater Toronto Area linked to a turf war. Over $4.2 million in assets and over a dozen arrests took place in last year's industry crackdown. 

 

Toronto Police Service Chief Myron Demkiw came to the defence of involvement by the Toronto police in the investigation, brushing aside allegations that it represented a conflict of interest since the investigation was led by York Regional Police. The charged officers represented four different divisions within the Toronto Police Service. The retired officer had been a member of the Emergency Management Unit. Arrested with him was his son, both suspects in the investigation of criminal activity. 

 

John Madeley Sr. (left) and John Madeley Jr. (right), the father and son accused in Project South, a seven-month-long investigation into organized crime and corruption.  CTV News

 

 

 

Vandal-Proofing Synagogues in Toronto

"It's very important to acknowledge nobody in our synagogue was hurt. This took place off hours when the building was not occupied."

"The sad reality is, we've been through this quite a number of times already in the last 18 months."

"We are an early warning system, and if these things are not addressed, if they're not dealt with they don't get easier over time."

"...Without overdramatizing it, it can fairly be said, I think, at some point in history in our civil and western civilization, that the Jews are often the canary in the mine shaft."

Rabbi Joe Kanofsky, Kehillat ShaareiTorah synagogue, North Toronto

Toronto Police are seeking a suspect (left) in a hate-motivated mischief to religious property investigation after multiple windows were smashed (centre, right) at Kehillat Shaarei Torah early on Nov. 4, 2025. (Toronto Police Services handout/supplied photos/Composite image by The CJN)

 

Early this week in Toronto there was a vandalism attack against a synagogue. This was not the first time the Kehillat Shaarei Torah synagogue had been attacked, not the second, not the third, not even the fourth time that vandals has chosen to express their vile contempt for this Jewish house of worship. Synagogues everywhere have been forced to take extraordinary security precautions against just such events, and this synagogue was no exception. Yet despite those precautions to harden the synagogue environs against unauthorized night-time access, on Tuesday the synagogue saw its tenth act of vandalism that left the congregation shaken but philosophical.

 

Reports of smashed windows were reported to the Toronto Police Service and the response was swift. In a year and a half they had responded on nine previous occasions to the plight of this synagogue under attack by unseen perpetrators spurred by the force of antisemitic hatred. On arrival police found four smashed window panes. Despite that the synagogue had last year installed a steel fence and locked gate following earlier attacks. The temple added barriers and a CCTV system that the Canada Community Security Program helped to fund through the federal government releasing funds for that purpose to the wider community of houses of worship in the city.

 

The suspect whose image was captured on video, was described as a man in late teen years or early 20s, short dark hair and a lean physique, wearing dark clothing. He has not yet been identified. The perimeter fence did not keep this damage-determined individual from his purpose, nor did special lighting and the gate that is securely locked during the night hours. The rabbi had nothing but praise for the police service tasked to be present during the daylight hours when the synagogue is in use.

 

Yet neither their presence nor the fact that the synagogue hired a paid duty constable to be on site during seasons of special worship, deter whoever it was that felt the need to desecrate a house of worship. In the rabbi's mind were dread visions of a number of attacks that took place in the United States at synagogues there, when people were in attendance and became the victims of racist violence. A Pittsburgh shooting where people were killed on a Sabbath morning as an example; even a hostage-taking at a Texas synagogue.

 

What can be seen as additionally distressing to the rabbi of this synagogue and some of the members of the synagogue's congregation; that no one from any of the nearby Christian churches expressed dismay and/or support when this occurred. The rabbi did receive word of commiseration and concern from other synagogues across the city, but nothing whatever from his Christian counterparts. 

 

A smashed window at Kehilat Shaarei Torah synagogue in Toronto, Ontario, following the latest act of vandalism — the tenth antisemitic attack targeting the congregation since October 7th massacre. Photo: Social media.

"I have heard politicians over the last couple of years say things which to me ring like platitudes, where they say, 'violence has no place in our society'. Violence has quite a big place, because violence is what people use to intimidate others, and to harm and to disrupt."

"So to say it has no place in our society is really inaccurate and misleading, because it has quite a great place."

"What they should say is, 'we will not tolerate, we will not stand for, we will not permit, and we will not rest until we stamp out as best as we can those forces in our society."

"When we stand together, when our leaders, religious and civic leaders, are together and united against hatred, not just antisemitism, but hatred of any minority group, of any small group within our society, it doesn't stand a chance."

"And when people are silent, people take that as acquiescence. It's not a complicated equation."

Rabbi Joe Kanofsky 

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

 

Chaotic Christmas Shopping Courtesy of Palestinian Outrage

"We can confirm that a demonstrator and another citizen who was at the mall exchanged words, which you see in a video that's circulating, and officers were keeping them apart. We are investigating this incident."

"During a situation like this, when tensions are high and there are large crowds of people, including the general public, officers must use their best judgement at the time, taking everyone's safety into consideration."

"The mall was very busy with holiday shoppers, and officers used their training to de-escalate the situation and disperse the crowd."

Toronto Police Service statement

 

"It's deeply concerning when people can make threats like that in the presence of police officers seemingly without consequence. I think it's important that even if you can't arrest somebody in the moment, because it might cause the situation to escalate or become more threatening or more violent, that there's followup, that things are being investigated and people are held to account." 

"Whatever's going on in the Middle East is complicated, but this is life here in Canada and people should have some decency to direct their protests where it's deserved, where it's merited, where there's a message being sent."

"It's not clear to me what these protesters are hoping to achieve other than to harass and intimidate Canadian shoppers during the holiday season."

"When somebody breaks the law there has to be accountability. Freedom of expression is a cherished Canadian right, and it's really a crucial value that we will share, but there are limits. When someone's expression of protest starts to veer into things that are unlawful ... this is a step too far."

Noah Shack, vice-president, Countering Anti-Semitism and Hate, United Jewish Appeal Federation of Greater Toronto

Pro-Palestine protesters target a Zara store on Sunday, Dec. 17, 2023, at Eaton Centre in Toronto. Photo by @neveragainlive1

Videos of a pro-Palestinian demonstration on Sunday that took place at The Eaton Centre outside a Zara store in Toronto have been viewed countless times on social media for the images of a masked protester threatening someone while Toronto police officers look on: "I'll put  you six-feet deep". "I'll put him on the ground", the masked protester says pointing at police officers in the mall. "You come near I'll put you lay down on the floor [sic] ... I'll put you six feet deep". The camera records police looking at one another while the protester moves on. 

In a later part of the video the man again says "I'll put you six feet deep. If you're a man, come touch me", the protester says again, in the presence of police. According to Toronto police, 150 demonstrators at about 5:30 p.m. entered the Eaton Centre where police had been stationed to augment regular mall security presence. At this time of year, with Christmas looming, and people out in great throngs doing their Christmas-gift shopping, the mall was busy.

 

Police and others theorize that the rally that took place that evening might be linked to a larger campaign to boycott Zara. A demonstration took place, as well as similar protests, at Yorkdale Shopping Centre and at Bayshore Shopping Centre in Ottawa. Zara shops are part of the clothing company Inditex, owned by the wealthy Ortega Spanish family (the eighth wealthiest family worldwide). Organizers of these protests may be under the impression that the Zara chain is Jewish-owned and a target for boycott. In very fact, the owners faced a lawsuit charging them with antisemitism.

Zara fashions have long garnered notoriety; once for a bag designed with the Nazi swastika symbol, another for a shirt emblazoned with a yellow star, reminiscent of Nazi Germany's persecution of Jews during the Holocaust years. This current protest is thought to have originated in a campaign to boycott after a Zara ad campaign titled "The Jacket", featuring a model in front of stylized rubble, carrying a mannequin wrapped in a shroud, reminiscent of destructive images in Gaza stemming from the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Idit Shamir, Consul General of Israel in Toronto, seeing the video, commented: "Pro-Palestinians terrify  young children waiting to meet Santa. Added bonus -- they are screaming that Jesus was a Palestinian. You can't make this stuff up."

Still from video