Rising Threatening, Violent Antisemitism in Toronto Courtesy of Muslim Community

"The Jewish community is increasingly asking a fundamental question: if imagery portraying Jews as vermin and celebrating the elimination of the Jewish state does not meet the threshold for hate propaganda laws, what does."

"As synagogues are shattered by gunfire and extremists march through largely Jewish neighbourhoods, it's clear that the status quo is not only unacceptable -- it's a growing threat to innocent life in our city." 

Joint letter: Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, B'nai Brith Canada, United Jewish Appeal

 

"At protests at Bathurst & Sheppard, extremists openly made threats of violence, glorified terrorism, and depicted Jews as subhuman -- 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 the Toronto Police Service 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."

Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs 

Toronto Al-Quds Day demonstration   World Socialist Web Site

 

Ontario Premier Doug Ford last week made an attempt to stop an Al-Quds Day rally, originally a creation by the Islamic Republic of Iran, to claim the ancient Judean city of Jerusalem an Arab Palestinian city and the Temple Mount, the retaining walls of the biblical Temple of Solomon dating back to the 10thC BCE, the Islamic Noble Sanctuary where the Prophet Mohammed was said to have flown up to heaven mounted on a horse. 'Quds', the Arabic word for Jerusalem.

 

The ceremonial day is meant to convey Islamic ownership of Jerusalem, as much to deny Israel its rightful place on its own ancestral heritage territory. A blatant global religious intifada, in very fact. Characterizing the rally for Al Quds Day as an event that 'glorifies violence' and 'celebrates terrorism', the Premier's effort was for naught when a court rejected his request for an injunction, permitting the event to proceed, one its organizers described as a 'pro-Palestinian' rally.  

"These kinds of things make our community fearful, so we would love to see restrictions on things like promoting designated terrorist organizations and terrorism inside of Canada."

"I think there is a recognition of the challenges that we face at this particular moment in time that are increasing in terms of threats from terrorism."

"[The Jewish community remains] in the midst of an unprecedented tidal wave of antisemitism." 

Dylan Hanley, vice-president public affairs, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs

 

"We'd like to see the criminalization of the glorification of terror."

"We'd like to see additional Criminal Code offences that make it more difficult for terrorist organizations to operate in Canada after they are listed as terrorist entities."

Rich Robertson, research manager, B'nai Brith Canada  

Anti-Israel demonstrators hosting Nazi-era signage savaging Jewish personas featuring a caricature of an emaciated Orthodox Jew exiting a cave asking if "Iran has stopped" yet, a drawing of a caricatured Jewish man crying "Help us, Daddy!" into a walkie-talkie faced with an American flag as missiles rain down -- another of rats creeping in and out of a hole in the shape of the Star of David were flaunted in Toronto last week, in a disgusting display of racist denigration of the Jewish community. Joseph Goebbels would be proud of his propagandist inheritors.

 

Protesters display antisemitic posters demonizing Jews during protest at Bathurst St./Sheppard Ave. West in North York on March 15. (Images courtesy of @l3v1at4an on X)

 

Jews in Canada are asking the federal government to consider enacting criminal laws that specifically target terror glorification and acts that promote or encourage terrorism. A dramatic -- and to Jews in Canada -- horrifyingly familiar scenario of an ongoing rancid rise in antisemitic incidents that call out for government attention and  appropriate remedial action. Shootings of synagogues, anti-Israel protests that applaud the Hamas October 7, 2023 barbaric atrocities in southern Israel, calling for Israel's destruction, a 'final solution', to 'globalize the intifada'. 

 

Organized marches led by Palestinian student groups in Canadian universities that march through Jewish neighbourhoods, jeering, intimidating, threatening residents. These are groups that not only focus on preying on the Jewish community, but that also go out of their way to become public nuisances, blocking highways, mounting protests in front of hospitals and diplomatic missions. And blocking access to public traffic by kneeling en masse in public street prayers as a sign of  Islamic conquest.

 

Palestine Youth Movement held a downtown rally from Yonge and Dundas Sts. to the Israeli Consulate on Tuesday, March 18, 2025, before shutting down the intersection to traffic. Photo by Caryma Sa'd /Special to the Toronto Sun

"Week after week, for far too long, hateful protesters have been allowed to publicly spew antisemitic vitriol on this street corner [Bathurst and Sheppard]."

"The line has been crossed repeatedly. Toronto police must lay charges, the Crown must prosecute, and the courts must make clear that promoting antisemitism on our streets carries serious consequences."

Michael Levitt, CEO, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center  

According to Toronto police, an online statement assured it was "aware of antisemitic signs displayed at a demonstration this weekend at Bathurst and Sheppard" (the heart of the Jewish community in Toronto). "Hate Crime Unit investigators are consulting with the Ministry of the Attorney General regarding promotion of hatred offences under the Criminal Code." Yet, despite considerable police resources tasked to security of the Jewish community, the threats and the violence continue, as evidenced by recent synagogue shootings and another at the U.S. Consulate.

 

Toronto Police

 

"Muslim Values Are Canadian Values"

"The group [Ne'eman Foundation charity] is not complying with the requirements set out in the Act [Income Tax Act]."

"In particular, it was found that the Foundation failed to maintain proper books and records and, as a result, we were unable to verify that the Foundation devotes resources to charitable activities."

Canada Revenue Agency 

 

"As the union representing over 17,000 CRA [Canada Revenue Agency] professionals and an organization that will always stand with human rights, we commend CRA's decision to revoke the JNF's charitable status."

The Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC)

 

"[The JNF (Jewish National Fund) delisting is a victory; the JNF is] a fundamental pillar of Canadian complicity in Israeli ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian pepole and the theft of Palestinian land."

Independent Jewish Voices 

 

"A group that calls itself Independent Jewish Voices (IJV), and passes itself off as an organization that speaks on behalf of Jewish Canadians, promotes Holocaust denial through social media, a B’nai Brith investigation reveals."

"Postings on the group’s official Twitter and Facebook accounts have been directing followers to articles from the white supremacist hate site Veterans Today. One article in particular falsely asserts that no more than 1-million Jews were killed by Nazi Germany and characterizes modern antisemitism as a natural reaction to Israeli policies. The article was also promoted online by Sid Shniad, a B.C. resident who serves as IJV’s co-chair and official spokesperson."

"Both the Anti-Defamation League and the Southern Law Poverty Center have denounced Veterans Today as a white supremacist hate site, replete with false accusations of Jewish responsibility for the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the assassination of former U.S. President John F. Kennedy, and the Sandy Hook elementary school shootings."

"The posting by IJV cannot be described as accidental or unknowing. In fact, one Facebook follower of the IJV page explicitly pointed out that the article supports Holocaust denial, but IJV failed to answer it or delete the link."

B'nai Brith of Canada Foundation 

The Canada Revenue Agency is being accused of systematically stripping charitable status from the country’s Jewish non-profit organizations. Photo by JulieAlexK /Getty Images

 

The Canada Revenue Agency -- it can no longer being denied -- has been stripping charitable status systematically from Canadian Jewish non-profit organizations. Eight explicitly Jewish non-profit charities have been stripped in the last two years, of their capacity to collect tax-deductible donations. Pressure has been exerted through campaigns launched by anti-Israel activists, some of whom include agents employed by the Canada Revenue Agency.

 

The group Canadian Women Against Antisemitism detailed all eight delisted organizations in a petition they set before the House of Commons, stating that the situation "appears to be a pattern  of selective enforcement against Jewish and Zionist charities", calling on the Canadian government to launch a review of details surrounding the delistings to "ensure the decision was not influenced by a systemic bias or political pressure".

 

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs has stated much the same concerns with this puzzling issue. "This seeming trend raises serious concerns, especially amidst the tidal wave of antisemitism happening in Canada." Of the eight delistings the most high-profile is the Jewish National Fund founded in 1901, and given charitable status since 1967. The CRA unilaterally withdrew charitable registration from the Jewish National Fund in August 2024, much to the delight of anti-Israel campaigners.

 

Independent Jewish Voices, claiming to represent the views of Jews in Canada, whose membership is open to anyone and is likely comprised of greater numbers of non-Jews, has defended Samidoun, a Lebanese-Palestinian group headquartered in Vancouver, while on Canada's terrorist list for its links with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, another listed terrorist group. They also collaborate with the Palestinian Youth Movement which openly celebrated the October 7 massacres in organized marches in Canada.

 

The Ne'eman Foundation, a  group directing Canadian funds to charities and non-profits in Israel was delisted around the same time as JNF, with the CRA accusing it of not having been "operated exclusively for charitable purposes".  Under vague conditions of non-compliance with the Income Tax Act, another six Jewish or Zionist charities also had their charitable status revoked, among them Herut Canada, a volunteer community safety patrol formed to stand guard outside synagogues, Jewish centres and other sites targeted by anti-Israel blockades.

 

The group Just Peace Advocates operated a campaign accusing Herut Canada as a "Zionist vigilante group", encouraging supporters "to ask the CRA to immediately suspend MHC's ability to grant donors' tax credits. 

"Canada is complicit in Israel’s genocide in Palestine. It always has been an active participant in the colonization of Palestine; and since October 2023 it has recommitted itself to supporting the Zionist State. This is not a surprise when considering Canada’s own existence as a settler colonial state that is committing an ongoing genocide against Indigenous Peoples here on Turtle Island. Canada is complicit in a myriad of ways."

Just Peace Advocates 

As for various Islamic and pro-Palestinian charities in Canada, among which some have been active in anti-Israel activities, and are known to transfer funds to terror-linked groups, no such delisting campaign has occurred. Four Canadian charities with track records of sending funds to Gaza including money transfers to organizations which the CRA itself considers terror entities were revealed last August by Postmedia columnist Warren Kinsella.

 

Funds were sent to Inash El Usra, a Gazan fund for "martyrs, resisters, and detainees" by the charity Canadian Palestinian Foundation, which a CRA audit had determined had links to Hamas. The Muslim Association of Canada has faced  charges from the CRA of links to the Muslim Brotherhood and has worked with IRFAN-Canada, a former charity in Canada listed as a terror group in 2014, accused of having transferred over $14 million to Hamas. Despite which they retain charitable status.

 

Prime Minister Mark Carney recently spoke at an event of the Muslim Association of Canada. The group continues to receive funding from the federal government. A sum of $20,000 was given them in October in celebration of "Canadian Islamic history month". As for the CRA's charges against the Muslim Association of Canada, the charity speaks of them as evidence of "systemic Islamophobia".

 

Amira Elghawaby

"At a recent Eid al-Adha celebration hosted by the Muslim Association of Canada, Prime Minister Mark Carney emphasized the alignment between Islamic teachings and Canadian ideals. He remarked, “The values of community, of generosity, and yes, of sacrifice, these are Muslim values, these are Canadian values,” underscoring his belief that Canada's multicultural identity is built on universal principles that transcend religious boundaries. Carney also noted that while faith may differ across communities, common values unite the nation ‑ calling for inclusivity grounded in shared cultural tenets."

The Brief 

A Lone Voice in the Canadian Desert of Political Support for Jewish Security

"It was brutal, and a real shock to see firsthand, these glass doors and windows shattered, and glass laying all over the place."

"The most heartbreaking part of all? Most of the response was, not feeling surprised. They told me: 'We believed we were respected and admired, and we believed people wanted us here, and this is what it's come to."

"I believe that any one of our citizens, any one of our residents who is under pressure and beleaguered and targeted consistently deserves to have support and protection."

"I want to remind everyone that they're not alone. These are words I've said so many times now since October 7, 2023."

"I think the first and most important thing is that I've tried, and my colleagues have tried to be there, to show up, to show solidarity and to deliver a consistent message from October 7, all the way through."

"We are only one part of the solution, and we do need the other levels of government to step up and respond in a similar fashion. And they haven't always done it. They certainly haven't done it consistently."

Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca

Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca in Vaughan, Ontario.  Photo by Ernest Doroszuk,Toronto Sun 

 

The mayor of Vaughan, a suburb of the City of Toronto, spoke before a congregation of hundreds of Jewish residents in the wake of a targeted gunfire attack at the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto synagogue. At the sanctuary podium the mayor explained what had happened to Jewish worshippers who had arrived that morning, not knowing that their synagogue had been sprayed by bullets in the earlier morning hours. 

 

This, at a time when another synagogue in Toronto, Shaarei Shomayim, was also that very same evening hit by bullets, following an earlier March 2nd attack on Toronto's Temple Emanu El synagogue. In the city of Vaughn with its 350,000 population, 15,000 identify as people of the Jewish faith. The city of Vaughn, in complete contrast to Toronto, had held a city hall vigil for the two Bibas family infants murdered in Hamas custody along with their mother. 

 

The Canadian flag flew at half-mast following the October 7 massacre in Israel. Mayor Del Duca's municipality was the first in the country to introduce a "Bubble Zone" bylaw that prohibits demonstrations from taking place within 100 metres of a place of worship, hospitals and daycare facilities. A result of two back-to-back "large scale" synagogue protests that took place in 2024, described by the mayor as "really ugly". 

 

People carry a Palestinian flag during a rally in front of City Hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada October 9, 2023.   (photo credit: REUTERS/Kyaw Soe Oo)

 

Mayor Del Duca sent a message to the federal government where he called for "more action coming from the federal government", giving special mention to former and present prime ministers of  Canada, Justin Trudeau and his successor Mark Carney, neither of whom have exerted themselves to use existing laws under the Criminal Code to take steps to ensure the safety and security of Canadian Jews against a flood of 'pro-Palestinian', 'pro-Hamas' organized hate fests threatening the existence of the state of Israel and by extension Jews everywhere as they called to 'globalize the Intifada' and for that infamous 'Final Solution'. 

 

The Canada of their birth, the Canada of not so long ago is no longer the Canada that people of Jewish origin who are Canadian citizens recognize and love. This very Liberal party that has governed the country for over a decade is responsible for an influx of immigrants, refugees and migrants from the Middle East and North Africa bringing with them their customs and values, their history and religious devotion, their customs and laws utterly at variance with those of Canada itself. And among those customs is a rabid form of Jew-hate that festers and boils over into the wider Canadian society.

 

The Canadian government that engineered this wholesale change in the meaning of Canadian identity and values under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms has chosen to abrogate its primary duties of equality and justice in the greater interests of garnering votes among a now-large demographic against a far more modest-in-number group that has been left to its own devices to shelter itself from raging discrimination, racism, threats and violence. The Canada so beloved of its Jewish population has vanished.

As anti-Israel protesters resort to antisemitic taunts and display blatantly antisemitic signs in a predominantly Jewish neighbourhood, police say they will “consult” the attorney general about potential “promotion of hatred” offences. Juno News

 

"I want to make it clear: this can't be the occasional social media post: but through your language through your internal meetings with law enforcement, with intelligence officials. You make it abundantly clear that this can't happen, and it's got to stop."

"And you give directions to your ministers, whether it's your minister of public safety or your minister of justice and the attorney general of Canada, whoever it happens to be."

"You have these discussions at cabinet and in caucus, and you make it crystal clear, including to your caucus members. And you tell us all the measures you're taking."

"I have yet to see that kind of forceful language or behaviour or policies being adopted. What I've heard, both informally and on the public record, is a lot of process talk."

"[Some Liberal Members of Parliament have] said absolutely outrageous things, and they are not in the least interested in protecting the Jewish community. A lot of officials on all levels [won't call out Jew-hatred in the] hope it all goes away [or that they are] too busy counting votes, rather than standing up for Canadian values."

"They seem to have lost the ability to make moral or ethical judgments."

"[It must be stated publicly that it's wrong to protest] fully masked, aggressive, and clearly trying to intimidate people, in an area that you happen to know is a largely Jewish neighbourhood. [A generation ago] this would not have been even questioned."

Vaughn Mayor Steven Del Duca 

Islamic Republic of Iran Strategy for Survival

"Tehran's bet appears to rest on a familiar asymmetry; its conviction that it can absorb more pain, for longer than the U.S. and its partners are willing to tolerate."

"The leadership likely calculates that sustained economic pressure, finite munitions stockpiles, and the political cost of mounting casualties will narrow Washington's and Israel's appetite for a protracted confrontation."

"Time, in this view, is not neutral -- it's a battleground."

"If Iran calibrates its retaliation carefully, and if it can maintain elite cohesion at home, it may be able to outlast the immediate storm."

"Survival, not victory, is the strategic objective." 

Ali Vaez, director, Iran Project, International Crisis Group, Washington 

 

"They thought Iran was weak and they're realizing that although Iran is weaker than two years ago, the country still has thousands of ballistic missiles and drones."

"Iran has no other option than to resist and sooner or later they will realize that they made a mistake."

Foad Izadi, professor of world studies, University of Tehran

 

"My sense is that the Islamic regime's bench is deeper than the White House or the Israelis may be assuming."

"If the regime has lost legitimacy in the eyes of the majority of its people, we haven't seen defections, we haven't seen signs there is a splintering inside the regime."

"There is sufficient cohesion in the clerical-judicial authorities that even with the taking out of the Supreme Leader and the armed-forces commander, it doesn't mean we are going to see a collapse of the regime."

Jeffrey Feltman, former UN undersecretary general for  political affairs

 

 

With the air attacks launched by the U.S. and Israel on 28 February leading to the death on that first day, of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, at minimum an estimated 1,100 people had perished in the space of the first four days of attacks. Large numbers of government and military buildings were destroyed both in Tehran and around the country. In a strategic bid for survival the Islamic Republic counts itself prepared to absorb and withstand great pain, more, it estimates, than the U.S., Israel and Gulf states combined could absorb.

 

With that in mind the strategy was developed to overwhelm the Persian Gulf with drones and missiles for the explicit purpose of exacting maximum chaos, exhaust the defensive capabilities of the region along with its political will, while disrupting global energy markets in the hope that this can all be achieved before Iran exhausts its massive store of projectiles. Weakened before the onslaught both by an earlier June 2025 wave of attacks, as well as a nation-wide series of massive protests against the regime, a depleted leadership is left to fight a war despite its polarized population.

 

"Iran, unlike the United States, has prepared itself for a long war", stated Ari Larijani, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, reflecting his crucial role in Iran's process of decision making. President Masoud Pezeshkian, judiciary chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni-Ejei, senior cleric Ayatollah Alireza Arafi and Ari Larijani represent the makeup of an interim council. After the decision was made to elevate the deceased Grand Ayatollah's son, Mojtaba Khamenei, and the revelation that he was seriously wounded at the time his father was killed, it is now believed that the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has assumed the power of control in Iran.

 

 

Iranian leadership had determined to institute centralization plans for decision-making called the 'mosaic' defence strategy which includes giving military commanders the power to independently reach decisions reflective of any given situation they encounter. It was undoubtedly they who adopted the strategy of attacking Gulf Arab countries that are allies of the United States who also depend on the U.S. for their own defence, alongside trade and financial agreements.

 

Iran was estimated to have roughly 2,000 ballistic missiles left in its arsenal following last year's joint assault by the U.S. and Israel. A much larger number of Shahed drones formed an additional portion of their stock of weaponry, and a steady stream of additional drones is being handed over to Iran by its ally Russia, who is also producing them, modified and based on the Iranian design. Russia, according to an analysis through Bloomberg Economics produces the drones at a  rate of several hundred daily.

 

Smoke rising near the Dubai International Airport after a drone attack overnight on Sunday  Reuters

 

"Over recent days we're seeing operations against the launchers, on the one hand, and strikes to cork up the tunnels out of which those launders and missiles are meant to emerge", explained Israel's security cabinet minister Eli Cohen through Israel Army Radio. The U.S. strikes have hit thousands of targets across Iran, while Iran responded with hundreds of ballistic missiles and thousands of drones. 

 

No sign of anti-government protests have re-emerged internally in the country to date, with Iranian civilians likely hoping that foreign outside intervention may succeed where their January mass protests failed, at a steep cost in lives when the regime cracked down with deadly fire, killing tens of thousands of protesters.  

 

Conflict across the Middle East continues to rage after the US and Israel launched wide-ranging strikes on Iran, killing the country's supreme leader on 28 February.  Anadolu via Getty Images

"For the Islamic Republic as an entity, it's vital to project the uninterrupted functioning of the system."

"Decentralization is critical for Tehran. It ensures that in the absence of communication with the central government, the country can continue to function for security political and administrative purposes."

"After the June war, Iran made considerable efforts to expand its launcher capabilities. It's unclear how successful they have been. [The entrances and exits of these facilities -- underground] missile cities -- [are also vulnerable to attack]."

"Although Iranian teams have reportedly worked around the clock to reopen damaged gateways, such efforts require resources that may eventually be depleted. If I had to offer an estimate, I would say Iran may be capable of sustaining the current tempo of attacks for at least another three to four weeks."
Arman Mahmoudian, research fellow, Global and National Security Institute, University of South Florida 

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)

 

Striking Tehran for Al Quds Day

"These attacks are out of fear, out of desperation. One who is strong wouldn't bomb demonstrations at all. It's clear that it has failed."

"[The American leader underestimated Iran’s resolve.] He doesn't understand that the Iranian people are a brave nation, a strong nation, a determined nation."

"The more he presses, the stronger the nation's determination will become."

Ali Larijani, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council 

 

"The optics are devastating."

"Israel just bombed a Ramadan gathering dedicated to Jerusalem. Every government in the Muslim world will face domestic pressure to respond."

Gulf-based anonymous diplomat  

Blasts strike Tehran’s Al-Quds day rally amid escalating US-Israeli strikes   Daily Jang

 

Israel issued a warning to Iranians on a Farsi-language X account. That warning was clear; that people should not attend the annual Al Quds Day rally to which the Iranian regime had urged all Iranians to turn out to demonstrate their loyalty to the Republic and its aims, even and most particularly during a time of great tension and danger, with air strikes over Iran and Tehran's military and weapons-storage and nuclear plants struck by the U.S. and Israel on a daily basis. The warning urged Iranians to clear the area, shortly before a planned attack on Tehran's central square.

 

It is doubtful that many Iranians received the message, since the regime had shut down all internet communications. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian in a social media post urged Iranian citizens to "disappoint Iran's enemies by taking to the streets in greater numbers than ever before". When Iranians in January 'took to the streets' all across the nation, they numbered in the tens of thousands in city after city, and not at the behest of their government. Their impetus to rally and demonstrate, despite the inherent dangers was to protest against the government.

 

The risks they took, in a regime known to be dismissive of human rights and which had in the past attacked its own people when they peacefully assembled to protest against the anti-human rights excesses of the  regime, was not unknown to the courageous civilians who faced off against the Basij police who used live ammunition to fire on protesters. An estimated 30,000 of whom were killed, many tens of thousands wounded and countless others arrested and tortured as opponents of the regime.  

 

Shiite Muslims stand over the representation of US and Israeli flags with pictures of Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu during an annual Al-Quds Day rally in Peshawar, Pakistan, on March 13. NDTV

 

Gathered on Friday, ostensibly to support Palestinian claims to statehood on ancient Judean ancestral land, and to chant calls for the destruction of Israel, Iranians faithful to the regime gathered in Ferdowski Square in Tehran for the annual state-organized rally. The yearly rally, meant to take place on the last Friday of Ramadan, takes place when Iran loyalists globally remain faithful to the call, and arrange for similar ceremonial al-Quds rallies to take place throughout Europe and North America.

 

This year Israel targeted the area, as warned, but that warning did nothing to stop the mass demonstration, attended by a smattering of senor government officials. The bombing of the square is part and parcel of Israel's decision to destroy the infrastructure and leadership of the Iranian theocratic regime. Despite the combined daily aerial bombardment of both Israel and the United States -- and in fact, because of it -- Iran has responded by launching widespread missile and drone attacks not only on Israel, but at neighbouring Gulf states. 

PBS News

 

The midday explosion that rocked the Ferdowski Square area where crowds chanted "Death to Israel", "Death to America", sent crowds scrambling. No reports of casualties were immediately given. Following the strike, footage from the scene saw people chanting "God is greatest" in the fervour of divine belief, even as smoke billowed high in the area. 

 

A second message was posted in Farsi by the Israeli military criticizing Iran for blocking people from seeing their pre-strike warning. Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei who leads the Iranian judiciary, was giving an interview on state television while at the demonstration, as the strike took place. He stated that Iran, "under this rain [of] missiles will never withdraw", as his bodyguards protectively surrounded him. 

 

Black smoke rises following an explosion in Tehran, as Iranians take part in the Al-Quds Day rally, a commemoration in support of the Palestinian people held on the last Friday of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. (Elaheh Asiabi/Fars News Agency/AFP/Getty)

 

 

Canada Under the Liberal Government Offers No Guarantees of Equality for Canadian Jews

"[Canada is now] one of the centres of antisemitism globally. [There was a noticeable] rising trend in antisemitism [following the October 7 terror attacks on Israel, causing a] dramatic spike."

"It created a lot of concern in Israel. It drew the attention of the highest political levels in spite of the fact that we are, at the same time, busy with the war."

"We really came to realize that Canada has become one of the centres of antisemitism globally that we need to monitor much more closely." 

"The concern for security is something that's completely unprecedented. I never thought that would be an issue that we'll be dealing with at such a level in Canada. Unfortunately, it is, so what I'm doing about it is to draw the attention of all relevant governments: federal, provincial, municipal." 

Israeli Ambassador Iddo Moed, Ottawa Legation 

 

"What our message needs to be to our leaders is that if nothing is done, then you're sending a message: 'They can go ahead and go to the next level'."

"It's the literal broken windows theory."

Rabbi Daniel Korobkin, Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto synagogue 

Israel’s Ambassador to Canada Iddo Moed looks at bullet holes in windows at the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto synagogue in Vaughan, which was recently shot at, Thursday March 12, 2026. Photo by Peter J. Thompson/National Post

 

Three synagogues were shot at in Canada in less than the space of a week. Jewish groups have been warning for years that there would be increasingly violent action taken against Jewish institutions, given the constant deliberately provocative marches by pro-Palestinian, pro-Hamas groups in Canada who have continued to harass and threaten Canadian Jews, while proclaiming the global Intifada that would destroy Israel. The marchers not only had the impact of victimizing Canadian Jews, but they also took it upon themselves to illegally block roadways and intersections, amidst displays of mass street prayers.

 

During the several years that Canada's Islamist cohorts organized marches, violations of public spaces, took over university campuses and threatened and harassed Jewish students and faculty, there were also shootings at Jewish day schools, synagogues, community centres, and private Jewish-owned businesses. Places of business were vandalized, fire-bombed and boycotted by vociferous antisemites. And while police were present at these daytime gatherings to maintain public order,  nothing was ever done to deter ongoing events of the same nature.

 

Jewish institutions have had to invest in security measures including fencing, metal detectors and private security guards along with other property reinforcements against intrusions. Governments at every level, from municipal to provincial to federal have essentially spouted the same tired expressions of 'this isn't Canada', and 'this will not be tolerated' and authorities express indignation over the rise of virulent antisemitism, while also decrying 'Islamophobia'. Cheap words and absent actions.

 

Members of the Jewish community, GTA police services and politicians gathered outside a North York synagogue to stand up against antisemitism after three synagogues were shot at over the span of a week. (Spencer Gallichan-Lowe/CBC)

 

Ambassador Moed appeared at one of the synagogues north of Toronto that had been shot at; the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto (BAYT) synagogue. The synagogue's front doors suffered ten shots shattering its windows. There were no injuries suffered at any of the three targeted synagogues. The ambassador spoke of the attack's intention to signal intimidation of synagogue members, and by extension, the population of Jews in Toronto, knowing they are targeted and the potential that this indicates, of serious physical harm, apart from the aggravated mental stress.

 

In an interview, Ambassador Moed who was originally from the Netherlands and acted there as the Israeli ambassador as well, and as such was well familiar with the Netherlands' well earned reputation for antisemitism, explained that he was shaken by his experience in Canada. The threats that Canadian Jews face, he realized during his tenure in the country, he assesses as "incomparable to anything in the past".

 

When he was assigned to Israel's diplomatic mission in Canada he anticipated ambassadorial business as usual; business development, community relations, expanding trade and strengthening bilateral ties. Nothing prepared him for the reality of witnessing harassment of Canadian Jews and Israelis in the country. Israel's government has become all too aware of Canada's growing ill reputation as a country steeped in antisemitism; partially a result of its immigration/refugee/migrant-intake laxity.  

 

Beth Avraham Yosef of Toronto synagogue in Vaughan was one of two synagogues that were shot late Friday night. (CBC)

"Part of my visit here is to share with [Canadian political leaders] our grave concern, to share with them our perspective, that we see a clear escalating trend. We see that all the red lights are blinking. We see that all the warning signs are there. We are not sure that we've seen the end of this."

"This is sort of a global trend, and its expressions in Canada are one of the worst. Today we are speaking about the country [Canada] where most shooting incidents took place against Jewish institutions in the world."

"We are talking about [the Jewish] community which is the fourth largest diaspora that feels terrorized."

"It feels abandoned."

Israeli Ambassador to Canada Iddo Moed