Incomparably Beautiful Naturally Scenic British Columbia and Atlanta's FIFA Islam Compliance

FIFA World Cup 2026™ Vancouver

"The unregulated drug supply in Vancouver is unpredictable and may be more dangerous than what visitors are used to in other countries or regions."

"Carry naloxone and know how to use it."

"Start low, go slow [use only] one substance at a time."

FIFA Vancouver website : Know Before You Go 

Vancouver is being ravaged by an opioid crisis that makes the United States' epidemic pale in comparison Credit: Simon Townsley

 

These tips to sport tourists arriving in Vancouver hosting its portion of the FIFA World Cup instructs visitors to the city on how best to use illicit drugs, and the wisdom of having naloxone in one's possession.  The website goes so far as to recommend that tourists submit their cellphone numbers to the Province of B.C. enabling receipt of public health alerts should a batch of illicit drugs be discovered of particular potency. How very considerate.

 

Of course, illicit drug use is particularly widespread in the province and the province responds to that reality by extending its concern to all drug users to be aware of best practices in pursuit of stemming the tide of drug overdoses, particularly with the use of fentanyl and street drugs laced with the artificial opioid. An alert just happened to coincide with the World Cup when Vancouver Police reported a cluster of overdoses in East Vancouver.

 

  Friendly injection /The Telegraph

The website does not confine itself to concerns over safe drug use, but adds tips on fraudulent game ticket avoidance, drawing police attention to use of drones, aside from the "information on safer substance use and laws", where the section informs visitors that the province is in the midst of a "toxic drug public health emergency" (aka "overdose crisis").

 

Even Vancouver Police get in on the action, since it's also a concern of theirs: "For questions about what drugs are allowed in Canada, see this list of controlled and illegal drugs", alongside a link to a Government of Canada database of illicit drugs.  Will seasoned drug users and sport aficionados really distract themselves with the nuisance call of educating themselves for the purpose of self-protection that will likely recall their mothers' cautions when they were impressionable kiddies?

 

Vancouver stands out as a host city to include illicit drug tips in its FIFA guide, when San Francisco and Baltimore, also experiencing fatal drug overdoses, tent cities and fentanyl addicts featuring their urban core, wouldn't think of it. Perhaps they're not as nice-addicted. Public health officials in New York City reported in February all-time highs of fatal overdoses. "From world-class entertainment to iconic landmarks and rich cultural experiences, this is more than a tournament, it's a once-in-a-lifetime celebration" New York's guide touts.

 

Vancouver's B.C. Place where seven 2026 FIFA matches are taking place, is a 15-minute stroll from the Downtown Eastside, the core of the city's drug addiction conundrum and there the third-of-million-estimated visitors will encounter the city's approved open-air drug use and squalid street disorder. Case in point -- when two U.S. visitors praised the sushi and the "beautiful, beautiful stadium", but what was even more memorable for them was the "drug zombies walking all over the place".

 

Perhaps, on the other hand, Vancouver isn't so remarkable in its focus, even as Toronto, the other host city in Canada, has its website appearing as a tourism brochure where illegal drugs are mentioned on a list of "prohibited items" allowed at sanctioned viewing sites. Neither is anything like Atlanta's venue, however, where well-organized Muslim groups have FIFA's permission to greet all incoming ticket-holders with publications on Islam. And where posters informing visitors where prayer rooms are located for their convenience at the venue. 

"I went to the Morocco vs. Haiti game in Atlanta yesterday. One thing immediately caught my attention. Right after scanning your ticket at the entrance to Mercedes-Benz Stadium, there were groups of people handing out "Muslim Hospitality" pamphlets. They showed where to pray and which food was halal. Then, just a few steps inside, there was a large sign with the same information."

" It didn't feel like simple visitor assistance. It felt like the promotion of a religion. The stadium doesn't hand every fan a printed map, stadium rules, or event information, those are all available online. Yet for Islam, there were printed pamphlets being handed to everyone and an entire team dedicated to distributing them."

"No other religion had volunteers handing out pamphlets at the entrance. There were no Christian hospitality teams, no Jewish hospitality teams, no Hindu or Buddhist pamphlets, only Islam."

"This is a soccer match, not a religious event. If someone wants to pray, there are churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques for that."

"The irony is even greater considering that, according to many Islamic scholars, professional soccer itself is considered haram, and FIFA generates revenue from sponsors such as Budweiser. Yet instead of addressing that contradiction, there is an organized effort to promote Islamic practices inside the stadium."

@FIFAWorldCup

@FIFAcom Brother Rachid, X

 

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)

 

The Civilizational Abomination of Al Quds Day

"Seeing these people chanting what I was hearing from those who were beating me on the streets of Tehran is  traumatizing."

"The real people of Iran [are not among them because they know] government is manipulating their ideologies and their beliefs and their unity." 

Ghazal Shokri, Iranian Canadian 

 

"[These events in Canada are] essentially an IRGC rally to spread its violent ideology. [Canada can no longer] tolerate any further escalation of radicalization or risks to our national security." 

"Canadian leaders should denounce Al Quds Day as a terrorist threat."

"We urge law enforcement and governments to make use of every tool available to uphold public safety and take decisive measures to confront this growing danger: arrest and prosecute extremists inciting violence, remove Iranian regime-linked individuals from the country and prevent further infiltration and criminalize the wilful promotion of terrorism." 

Noah Shack, CEO, president, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs

The Al Quds Day protest outside the courthouse at 361 University Avenue in downtown Toronto in March 2019. This year's event is set for Saturday, March 14. Photo by Jack Boland /Toronto Sun/Postmedia

 

A horrified world was witness in January to Iranian citizens gathering by the tens of thousands in cities all across Iran to condemn and demand the end of the Islamic Republic which has, since 1979, dominated and persecuted its own population, while forming, training, arming and commanding proxy terrorist groups throughout the Middle East with a focus on Shiite domination in a Sunni-Muslim majority region. Its often-stated designs to obliterate Israel 'from the map of the Middle East' and its fear-mongering threats of nuclear designs and ballistic missiles have led to escalating international attacks.

 

The regime's response was swift and deadly, tasking its Basij police linked to the Islamic Republican Guard Corps to use all means and methods to strike down the protesters. Tens of thousands of Iranian civilians were wounded, more were imprisoned and subjected to torture, while an estimated 30,000 Iranian protesters were killed, before the protests were put to a halt. This mass atrocity was addressed by the United Nations Human Rights Council which urged "full respect for the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity of the Islamic Republic of Iran".  

"This is promotion of terrorism in our streets."

"We are  calling on all of those who are speaking out today and beyond, to actually make sure that sort of thing and Al Quds Day specifically, is shut down, and is not allowed to take place in Toronto, or anywhere in this country, because hateful words, hateful demonstrations turn into this kind of violent attack, and we need to end it now."

Sara Lefton, CJA Federation of Greater Toronto  

CJA

 

And while the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is recognized for what it is, a listed terrorist group banned in Canada, an event established by the Iranian regime that takes place annually at the end of the Islamic holiday of Ramadan, Al-Quds Day (Arabic name for Jerusalem opposing Israel's 'occupation' of its own hereditary city of ancient Judean origins) is celebrated on the streets of Toronto and elsewhere in Canada, as it is wherever Muslim extremists are, led by the infiltration of the Muslim Brotherhood and the IRGC in Western countries.

 

These are events taking place globally which call for the destruction of Israel and the death of Israelis in support of the Iranian regime and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps agenda. The U.K. government this week approved the London Metropolitan Police request to ban the event, citing a risk of "severe public disorder". In place of the march, organizers will now resort to a static protest in Britain. A change of tactics, while the message and the threats that accompany the event remain. 

 

Earlier in the week a statement was issued for the city's legal department "to seek an injunction to stop this hate gathering" scheduled to take place in front of the U.S. consulate on Saturday, on the part of Toronto Coun. James Pasternak who urged governments and law enforcement agencies to act on infractions of the Canadian Criminal Code, Toronto's own hate rallies policy and bylaws: "I know hate when I see it and the Al Quds day march is NOT Charter protected", wrote Mr. Pasternak. 

"[The annual event is not "a neutral protest", but a "foreign interference in Canadian affairs."

"I think I, and a lot of other Iranian Canadians, view it as a show of force by the Islamic regime in Canada."

"And I think it's intended to send a message to the Canadian community as a whole, but particularly Iranian Canadians, about the power that Iran's regime can exercise even outside the country."

"I think, as you can see on your television, as you have seen in the past couple of months, Iranians, both in that country and outside of it, want democracy, they want human rights, they want equality and they denounce violence of every kind."

Iranian Canadian Kaveh Shahrooz, lawyer, human rights activist, fellow, McDonald Laurier Institute 

The Hateful Jackasses of the Palestinian Victimhood Movement

Motion: Be it Resolved, it is in Israel’s national interest to support a two-state solution  Munk Debates

 

"I felt that last night was a victory for sanity in this city, that we can have difficult conversations on difficult issues, where people disagree."

"But we can do that with civility and substance, right?"

"And we can move forward with events like this, despite the intimidation and threats directed toward our organization."

"We support the protesters' right to free speech and to exercise whatever they want to say, as long as it's done lawfully."

"It's a shame that clearly, for some people, they decided that their behaviour would not be within the law last night. 

Rudyard Griffiths, chair/moderator, Munk Debates

Toronto police lined up in front of Meridian Hall, where anti-Israel protesters showed up to oppose an event hosted by the Munk Debates about a two-state solution on Dec. 3, 2025. Photo by Caryma Sa'd

 

The Munk Debates have featured important events over the years featuring intellectuals, academics, philosophers, leaders in government speaking to subjects of great national and international interest and importance. One that was featured on December 3 was described on the webpage for the debate: "For many Israelis a two-state solution is the only viable path to a lasting peace, stability in the region and renewed legitimacy for the Jewish state internationally. Others assert the attack of October 7 and two years of regional war have made Israel’s national security, now and into the future, irreconcilable with Palestinian statehood."

 

No such debate that involves Jewish/Israeli speakers on a topic hot in the news and which has been fiercely 'debated' in the streets of Canada since the horrible events of October 7, 2023, with the wild and savage assault by Palestinian terrorist groups in southern Israel on the mostly civilian population of farming communities which launched a bloodbath of Satanic proportions on children, families, the mass rape of girls and women, mutilation and torture of families, kidnapping of the elderly, of children, of the wounded, of foreign farm workers and Israeli soldiers could ever take place in a civil atmosphere. For reality, history, logic and reason are entirely outside the realm of the passion of hate.

 

Antisemitism has made a comeback with a bleak, dark vengeance, exemplified by masses of masked accusers of Jews, dressed symbolically in keffiyehs, screaming that Jews should return to Poland, that 'Palestine will be free', and to 'Globalize the Intefadeh'. Many among them professing not to hate Jews, only Zionists, as though the two were divisible. And so it was with the riot that took place outside Meridian Hall in Toronto, as the debate commenced. 

 

Police clashed with anti-Israel protesters on the evening of Dec. 3, 2025, as they opposed an event hosted by the Munk Debates about a two-state solution in the Middle East on Dec. 3, 2025. Photo by Caryma Sa'd

 

The debate featured two well-known Israelis, one a former Israeli ambassador to the United States, Michael Oren partnering with Ayelet Shaked, former Israeli minister of interior who spoke against a two-state solution. Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert and former justice and foreign minister and chief peace negotiator Tzipi Livni argued in favour of a two-state solution. The event proceeded, despite the protests and a few interruptions.

 

Outside the event, a common enough gaggle of masked protesters holding Palestinian flags and carrying signage expressing their contempt and hatred of the State of Israel. "The world hates Israel", proclaimed one sign, while another invited "Honk4Gaza". Another protester held a megaphone and a Palestinian flag. Videos posted on social media showed hin shouting at people who were walking down the street: "Devil-worshipping Zionists! Go to hell. Go back to the slums of Europe!"

 

The 'protest', getting out of hand as many of them tend to do, with people carried away by their own dim-witted passion of hate saw one man arrested for assaulting a peace officer in an attempt to take possession of his weapon. Charged also with criminal harassment and uttering death threats that evening at the corner of Yonge and Front streets, according to police. Another woman was arrested on a charge of criminal harassment.

 

There were two protesters who had managed to enter the building, who were removed for causing a disturbance, according to a Toronto police spokesperson. One of the two escorted outside has been treated to a charge of trespass. Herut Canada, a Jewish charity that uses volunteers to monitor and safeguard Jews at such events had a presence at this one. Its former national director was there for the purpose of providing security to the Jewish community. He described hundreds of protesters gathered between 6:00 and 6:30 p.m.

 

Lawyer and independent journalist Caryma Sa'd posted a video on social media that showed a scuffle taking place between Toronto police officers and protesters. Another of his videos showed chants by protesters such as "War criminals!", others shouting back in chorus "Arrest them!", referring to the debate participants. They were obviously furious at the presence of prominent Israels, referring to them as "war criminals". 

 

The protesters were there, incited by the anti-Israel Toronto4Palestine group which along with others such as they, produced a post on social media calling for an emergency rally at Meridian Hall on Wednesday, where the debate was to take place. And so, faithful Jew-haters answered the call to promote antisemitism and slander the Jewish state.

 

A day later, following the debate, Ayelet Shaked stated on X that the debate had been held "under heavy security. Outside, demonstrations took place. Inside the hall, some useful idiots shouted, but overall, people listened and wanted to learn." 

 

Anti-Israel protesters gathered outside Meridian Hall in downtown Toronto, where a debate was being held about a two-state solution, hosted by the Munk Debates on Dec. 3, 2025. outside an event that was part of the Munk Debates, a debate on "the two-state solution" featuring prominent Israelis, turned ugly on Wednesday, with two activists arrested and two others removed from Toronto's Meridian Hall. Dec. 3, 2025. CREDIT: Caryma Sa'd Photo by Caryma Sa'd 

"The protesters were shouting the usual nonsense: 'Israel must die','Zionists are racists'."

"What was really great to see was that our community was completely undeterred."

"Everyone came in and left safe. We made sure of it."

Aaron Hadida, former national director, Herut Canada 

 

 

Toronto's Mayor Olivia Chow Speaking Islamist 'Truths'

"[Chow should immediately resign after having] the audacity to compare [Israel’s war against a terrorist organization in Gaza to Japan’s invasion of China, and following her] inexcusable [false claims about a genocide]."

"The only Gaza genocide was the massacre perpetrated by Hamas and its allies against Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023. Somehow, we doubt that’s what the mayor was referencing. [The mayor’s genocide claim is not only] false and defamatory [to Israel and its people but also] a calculated insult to the almost 200,000 Jews in the Greater Toronto Area who support Israel, and it exposes the Jewish community to material risk of violence."

Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation 

 

"By echoing that narrative, Mayor Chow lends support to those spreading malicious libels and undermines public confidence in your commitment to the safety, dignity, and inclusion of all Torontonians."

"The Jewish community expects the mayor to make this right by addressing the harm caused and taking immediate action to restore trust and ensure our safety." 

Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs 

 

"[Chow’s comments are] disgraceful, reckless and dangerously irresponsible. [Her] genocide in Gaza [remarks were] a slap in the face to Jews in Toronto, across Canada, and around the world — an unforgivable betrayal and a disgraceful distortion of reality."

"Effective immediately, Mayor Chow is not welcome at any Tafsik Organization events, commemorations, or meetings. Her conduct has failed Toronto, and we reject her presence and participation in our community spaces."

"We call for Mayor Olivia Chow to be formally excommunicated and permanently rejected by the Jewish community and all Jewish organizations. Providing her a stage … risks legitimizing antisemitism and anti-Zionism, and undermines community safety and integrity."

Amir Epstein, executive director, Canadian Jewish civil rights group, Tafsik Organization

 

"Making such inaccurate and misleading statements, while representing all Torontonians, sends a harmful and divisive message."

"Toronto deserves leaders who treat every community with respect and act with impartiality. At a time when the mayor should be working to mend divisions and ease tensions, she has instead chosen to inflame them …"

"When a mayor presents a legally disputed claim as fact, it crosses the line from leadership to bias."

B'nai Brith Canada 

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow appeared at the National Council Canadian Muslims gala on Nov. 1, 2025 (Screenshot image via X.com)

 

Attending a fundraising gala at the National Council of Canadian Muslims at the Pearson Convention Centre in Toronto, a brief video clip has circulated on social media which shows Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow speaking of Israel's war against the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza as a genocide. In her words: "The  genocide in Gaza impacts us all. A common bond to shared humanity is tested and I will speak out when children anywhere are feeling the pain and violence and hunger". Mayor Chow evidently hungered for applause from her audience which represents a fairly large voting bloc. 

 

The mayor went further, to draw a parallel between the tragic outcomes of Palestinian families caught in a deliberate crossfire orchestrated by the terrorist group that rules Gaza, to ensure that the Israel Defense Forces -- despite every and any effort to minimize collateral civilian damages when targeting Hamas operatives, their operations and command centres, and weapons depots -- would endanger; wound and kill by default civilians among whom were launched rockets into Israel, inviting Israeli responses. Whether hiding among the civilian population by shedding their distinctive uniforms, or installing command posts and communication centres and weapons depots in and under mosques, hospitals, schools or private homes, the purpose is to directly imperil civilian lives, as fodder for the propaganda campaigns that charge Israel with 'genocide'.

 

It is the Hamas charter and pledge among its members to destroy the State of Israel and the lives of Jews everywhere that is genocidal. Israel's response to Palestinian terrorism is justifiably existential in nature; no country could survive the ill intentions of another by simply shrugging off constant violent attacks in place of the internationally recognized right of self-defense. Hamas is an elusive, sly and murderous Islamist entity fully intent on destroying Israel. Its venomous attacks on Israeli civilians from infants to the elderly are sadistically savage. Their propensity toward staging mass atrocities then portraying themselves as victims of genocide as the underdogs in an uneven war appeals to Jew-haters everywhere.

 

Suggesting as Chow did that having a handed-down memory of her mother as a child in occupied China when Japan decided to invade and install a totalitarian occupation that preyed on the Chinese as being analogous to Israel's 'occupation' of the Palestinian territories is as canted historically as it could possibly be. It is Palestinian terrorism that 'occupies' ancestral Judean land, and unsatisfied with that portion, advances the position that all the land historically Jewish is the property and inheritance of 'Palestinian' Arabs. In Imperial Japan's historical invasion of Korea and China, the ancient human curse of territorial greed was advanced; precisely what Hamas is engaged in with a religious fillip.  

 

As an aside, Japan, during World War II, though a member of the German-led Axis, sought to protect Jews from annihilation; not only did a Japanese consul issue visas to Jews frantic to escape their fate, so they could transit Europe to safety elsewhere when no other country would give them haven, the Japanese provided that escape and that haven for them in occupied China, where they remained safe from the Final Solution of the Holocaust. 

 

In effect, Mayor Chow has legitimated once again the 'right' of 'freedom of speech', galvanizing 'pro-Palestinian' groups to once again gather at Bathurst and Sheppard, an area known as home to many Jews in Toronto, to harass and malign the Canadian Jewish population. Given little protection by the Toronto Police Service that guarantees the 'safety' of the Hamas-supporting protests, while warning Jews that they must refrain from antagonizing the Palestinian-flag-waving Jew-baiters.

 

Participants in Toronto's 61st weekly Rally for Israel, at Bathurst and Sheppard, try to ignore anti-Israel protesters who have begun turning up in recent weeks to try to disrupt the long-running solidarity event. (Jonathan Rothman/The CJN photo)

"The Mayor of Canada’s largest city, stood with us and spoke the truth: that what is happening in Gaza is a genocide, [that] truth matters, [and that] Mayor’s Chow’s words tonight were not about politics — they were about acknowledging the genocide in Gaza, and the path forward."

"It is an acknowledgment that has important policy implications, as we all know, because as we also all know, there are far too many who have not made this acknowledgment."

"Speaking the truth is the only way to be decent right now."

"There is still much wrong here in Toronto. And we’ve seen terrible things happen to shut down peaceful protests to stand against the genocide in Toronto over the past few years."

National Council of Canadian Muslims 

Skilled at speaking the Western democratic language of human rights, these sanctimonious declarations describing, threatening protests as peaceful, and the truth as 'their' truth, move those like Olivia Chow who are incapable of discerning truth and reality from feigned justice and a commitment to 'decency', much less a true regard for human relations 

No Way To Land A Plane

"We're in Toronto. We just landed. Our plane crashed. It's upside down."

"Fire department is on site. Were upside down."

"Everybody, most people appear to be okay. We're all getting out."

John Nelson, passenger video

 

"[The plane] impacted [the runway during landing, before parts of the aircraft separated and a fire ensued.]"

"As you can see here, the fuselage came to rest slightly off the right side of the runway, upside down, facing the other direction."

"At this point, it's far too early to say what the cause of this accident might be."

Ken Webster, investigator, Transportation Safety Board

 

"We are very grateful there was no loss of life and relatively minor injuries. [The quick response was due to the] heroic [first responders at the airport]."

"We are very focused on the care and the concern and the passengers and the crew, some of whom have already been reunified with their friends and their families. Others we have in a comfortable place right here at the airport in an environment where they're getting a lot of care and support from my staff."

Deborah Flint, president and CEO, Greater Toronto Airports Authority (GTAA)

 

"[The landing was a ] forceful [event where all of a sudden everything went sideways]."

"The next thing I know, there was kind of a blink, I was upside down and still strapped in."

"It was cement and metal. The absolute initial feeling is just need to get out of this."

Peter Carlson, passenger on the Delta plane

Delta Air Lines plane at Toronto Pearson airport, Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025.  CTVNews

On Monday, around 3:00 p.m. a social media statement by Toronto Pearson International Airport announced an "incident upon landing", adding that all passengers and crew are "accounted for". "No deaths, thank goodness. That's why (flight) attendants tell everyone to fasten seat belts", a social media statement by Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish followed. A Delta Air Lines plane suffered a crash landing, on the snow-cleared runway.

 

The tower had earlier issued a warning to the pilots to be aware of the potential of an air flow bump in their glide path while the plane began its landing manoeuvres; a result of a preceding aircraft before its entry. The tower at Pearson airport's audio recording indicated that Delta Air Lines Flight 4819 was cleared to land at 2:10 p.m. No additional connection with the Delta flight was recorded and then the tower confirmed at 2:12 p.m. that a plane crashed on runway 23. 

The Meteorological Service of Canada reported that the airport was experiencing blowing snow and winds up to 51 kilometres per hour, gusting to 54 kph. The temperature registered -8.6 C. Immediately after the crash all flight traffic was interrupted, placed on  hold for both arrivals and departures. The New York Post citing flight records, identified the plane as a Mitsubishi CRJ-900LR. Initially there was no word of possible injuries among the passengers debarking.

 

First responders work at the Delta Air Lines plane crash site at Toronto Pearson International Airport in Mississauga, Ont., Monday. (Arlyn McAdorey/Reuters)

 

The rear of the plane was sprayed by an emergency services truck. The Delta Air Lines plane was shown in images posted to social media upside down, with its landing gear pointing skyward, a wing torn completely off, smoke rising from the rear, while passengers were leaving the tarmac. The plane, arriving from Minneapolis, had departed at 11:47 a.m. Outside the plane passengers were moving away from their disabled flight.

 

Passengers walked on the ceiling before managing to evacuate out of the overwing door and the front door. The side of the plane was etched with skid marks close to the front door. The wing rests about 40 metres distant from the plane. Passengers that were injured were taken to hospital, around 20 of them, 17 of whom were eventually released, having suffered minor injuries. Several remain in hospital with more serious injuries, one of whom is a child, taken to Toronto's Sick Kids Hospital. 

A woman in her 40s was sent to Sunnybrook Health Sciences Centre wth critical injuries, while a man in his 60s was airlifted to St. Michael's Hospital. Critically injured people reported by Ornge Air Ambulance services added more people than those identified by a local paramedic service spokesperson who spoke of one individual with critical, non-life-threatening injuries and seven others with mild to moderate injuries.

 

Seats may have helped save lives, former transportation safety board investigator says: CBC

 

Hamas Supporters Degrade Boxing Day With Jew-Hate

"It is unfathomable that our leaders continue to embolden and enable those who wish to compromise the well-being of all Canadians through their callous acts of intimidation and incitement."

"As a society, we cannot allow for the continued denigration of our morals and values."

"[The protest was] nothing short of a hate-filled attempt to unduly target a Jewish-owned business."

Richard Robertson, director, research and advocacy, B'nai Brith Canada

 

"Like the vast majority of Canadians, we believe this kind of threatening behaviour has no place in our society. This is just the latest among many examples of the hostility and extremism being whipped up by these protests."

"It's long past time for authorities to take action against the brazen intimidation and extremism taking place in cities across Canada. Because while these protests may be targeting Jews, they ultimately threaten the democratic values that define Canada."

"[The protests] threatened Indigo staff and negatively impacted customers simply wanting to enjoy their day."

Noah Shack, interim president, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs

"This isn't a lawful demonstration for peace."

"It's antisemitic hatred targeted at a Jewish-owned business -- Indigo -- designed to create chaos in public and intimidate the employees and shoppers who do business there."

"It's a crime."

Marco Mendicino, MP, Eglinton-Lawrence riding, Toronto

The scene outside Indigo at Toronto's Eaton Centre on Boxing Day. Photo by X

On Boxing Day, predictably enough given past performances, anti-Israel protesters shouted "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free" through megaphones inside Toronto's mid-city located Eaton Centre. This is a busy downtown shopping mall, and at this time of year throngs of shoppers can be found there. A video in later circulation shows protesters chanting "Free, Free, Free Palestine", along with "While you're shopping, bombs are dropping", as they assembled at the Indigo bookstore, Jewish-owned.

A huge banner depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was hung by the group from a railing. Under the crude portrait, "Arrest This Criminal" appeared; a reference to an International Criminal Court warrant in a judgement reached concluding that war crimes and crimes against humanity had been alleged. During the turmoil of the demonstration from an upper balcony protesters threw flyers over the railing to the bottom level, accusing Israel of genocide.

Chants blared out such as "There is a genocide happening with our tax dollars". And the putrid charges levelled by the hate-mongers were not referencing the homicidal planned attacks that took place in southern Israel when it was invaded from Gaza by Palestinian terrorists geared up to assault, mass rape, torment, torture, mutilate Israeli girls and women, burn entire families alive in their homes, slaughter 1,200 infants, elderly and ill civilians along with members of the Israeli military; men and women alike.

These are the groups who idolize Hamas 'martyrs' while reviling Israeli survivors, caring nothing for the plight of the 251 Israelis of every age group and health condition, along with foreign farm workers and Israeli soldiers, held in hellish captivity in deep, dark, dank tunnels where contaminated air, scarce food and water, torture and humiliation became the order of their endless days, deprived of freedom, of all that makes life worthwhile. 

 

 

When mall Security and Toronto police finally got around to clearing the protesters out of the mall, no arrests were made; they simply dispersed from the two levels of the mall where they had installed themselves for greatest visibility and impact on those witnessing the event. Families who had come out to see the blue-and-white-lit Christmas tree (the colours, incidentally, of the Israeli flag), and to take advantage of Boxing Day sales items, as part of a family outing.

"Indigo Kills Kids" represents an online campaign calling for an Indigo boycott: "Due to its CEO's involvement in the oppression of Palestinians and its complicity in Israel's genocide in Gaza", reads the website. Indigo's Heather Reisman, the CEO of the successful book chain, along with her husband, CEO of Onex Corporation, Gerry Schwartz, had founded a charitable organization named the HSEG Foundation, providing scholarships to 'orphan' soldiers of the Israel Defense Forces.

At the same time this was happening in Toronto, another hot-spot of vicious antisemitic activity by pro-Hamas groups in Canada saw protests being rallied on Robson Street in Vancouver outside the Indigo bookshop, blocking Boxing Day shoppers from entering the store, bearing banners reading: "Indigo Kills Kids". This is the Canada that has infested itself obliviously with the presence of individuals from the Middle East and North Africa from antisemitic backgrounds fostered by fundamentalist Islam. 

Their presence is a byproduct of a Liberal-led government headed by Justin Trudeau whose contempt for Canada's history, its culture and its values has been expressed on countless occasions, including his assertions that Canada is a 'racist' society, that indulged in 'genocide'. He would improve the country by ensuring it became a 'post-national' agglomeration of people from all over the world, never bothering to ascertain whether those he invited to Canada would make good citizens by accepting its laws and values and integrating into its culture of equality and respect for one another.

"Toronto Police paid duty officers and CF [Cadillac-Fairview] Security were in the area and immediately engaged the group, who complied with direction to remove the banner and disperse from the property."

"Cadillac Fairview respects the right of individuals to express their opinions through peaceful demonstrations. However, it's crucial to highlight that our centres are private property and we neither condone nor permit these activities within our properties."

"We are committed to providing a safe and secure environment and there are a number of steps we undertake to ensure our property management team and security personnel are prepared to manage this activity."

Emily Ngai, Cadillac Fairview Account Director, North Strategic

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