When the hateful Al Quds day protesters were kicked out of the grounds of Queen’s Park in 2015 they took to the city-owned parkland north of the Legislature and subsequently to the streets of downtown Toronto to call for the destruction of Israel.
They marched up University Ave without a permit and get this, with the Toronto police accompanying them.
I know. I was there and was singled out for being a Zionist, five years before it became a regular thing on the city’s streets.
In 2019 city staff and the Toronto police were supposed to enforce bylaw contraventions — meaning the Al Quds haters, who engaged in this yearly display of Jew hatred sanctioned by the Iranian regime, were not supposed to occupy public property or block major roadways without a permit.
City officials were instructed to issue trespass warnings and to seek reimbursement from the Al Quds organization if they protested on city property without a permit.
For their part, police were ordered to take “swift and immediate action” against any evidence of anti-Semitism on city property, including that on placards and expressed during speeches.
I saw it all—the hateful placards, the calls for the destruction of the Jewish state and the comparison of Zionism to Nazism as young girls in niqabs holding professionally made signs trailed their fathers and brothers in western dress up University Ave.
It was all a ruse — one that set a dangerous precedent for what’s occurred over the past 10 months.
Despite tough (and cheap) talk from our politicians at the time, absolutely nothing was done.
Even though the city went to great lengths to outline what should be done about incidences of hate activity under its City of Toronto Hate Activity Policy — including notifying police and documenting the incident—nothing was ever done.
Even though the city have bylaws to prevent disruption of traffic, the police let them stay.
The die was cast.
Last March, in fact, Jewish councillor James Pasternak, received a response to an inquiry that was full of contradictions.
He was told if hate activity is found to occur on city property, permits could be refused in the future for such protests or rallies. However, the letter also said, the city does not issue permits for rallies on roadways, even though they disrupt traffic.
The letter did say that protest organizers are to contact police first to make arrangements for police presence and the police are there largely to keep the peace.
Despite a motion to council last October authored by Mayor Olivia Chow herself to stem the rising hate in Toronto, it was all lip service. Police aren’t prepared to do a darn thing.
It has become abundantly clear that city officials and the police have abandoned their responsibility to keep our public roadways, our squares and our neighbourhoods free of bullying, hate, threats and intimidation of the Jewish community.
It’s clear that the police and our politicians are afraid of and intimidated by the protesters.
With no pressure from our politicians, the mayhem continues. In fact, I would bet that Mayor Olivia Chow, based on her lacklustre response to the Jewish community, is happy for it to continue.
Over the past 10 months — since the atrocities of October 7 — I’ve lost count how many pop-up anti-Israel hate fests have taken over the streets of downtown Toronto.
The anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian hate mongers know they can do virtually anything with impunity.
I sense they feel they own our streets.
Perhaps the most obvious indication that they feel they can do whatever they want on the city’s streets was their pop-up prayerfest on Aug. 3 which tied up traffic for 30 minutes near the Toronto Eaton Centre.
The group of protesters plopped themselves down on top of mats and Palestinian flags over the streetcar tracks as if they owned the city.
The police called it a peaceful protest protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.
What utter B.S.
None of the protests are peaceful and no one is protected under the Charter to call for the destruction of the Jewish state or to block busy roadways.
The prayer pop-up was an attempt to show who’s boss and to intimidate Toronto’s citizens, not just Jews.
It’s very sad to see what has become of our city.
The combination of a cowardly police chief and activist politicians have sent a strong message that occupying streets to pray, to protest, to scream for the destruction of the Jewish state is perfectly acceptable.
Never mind the illegal occupation of a busy roadway.
Forget about bylaws, hate policies and the illusion that police are keeping the peace.
Their inaction — and that of our weak mayor—has simply ramped up the bullying, the intimidation and violence.
