A judge has sentenced a young woman to a year of probation for grabbing the flag of Joel Sacke, 88, who was thrown to the ground in an altercation last August during a pro-Israel rally at Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue in Toronto.
Hissa Abed, 18, was originally charged with theft under $5,000, and general assault, for the flag grab and throwing Sacke down.
However, following a “disposition” agreement, or plea bargain, between the Crown prosecutor, Jackson Foreman, and Abed’s attorney, Zachary Al-Khatib, she pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of mischief under $5,000 for grabbing Sacke’s flag. The assault charge was dropped.
The provincial judge conditionally discharged the young woman, placed her on probation for 12 months, and ordered her to “take and actively participate in counselling for anger management and any other issue as directed by probation” and to sign releases ensuring officers could monitor her compliance with probation conditions. Pending probation completion, her criminal record will be erased.
She must also perform 40 hours of community service. She must keep the peace, maintain good behaviour, is not to possess weapons, and is to avoid any contact or communication with Sacke.
The decision by Justice Howard J. Borenstein noted the basis for resolving the charges.
“The Crown advised the assault charge would be withdrawn as Abed would raise self defence and the Crown would not seek to disprove self defence beyond a reasonable doubt,” he wrote.
The incident occurred on Aug. 18, during what was the 46th edition of a Sunday afternoon event supporting Israel while calling for Hamas to free the hostages in Gaza, which recently passed its 75th consecutive week stationed at the northwest corner of the intersection, adjacent to a large outdoor shopping plaza.
Video evidence shared
The moment that Abed threw Sacke down, along Bathurst Street, was filmed and then widely shared on social media.But two specific pieces of video evidence submitted to the court proved key in the judge’s decision.
(The CJN is publishing court files—including videos, with the court’s authorization—to accompany this report.)
Justice Borenstein’s decision says it was the young woman’s action to grab an Israeli flag from a demonstrator—Sacke—that led to the chaos.
One video exhibit shows the young woman, in the back seat of a car with her family, driving past the rally, laughing and calling out “Free Palestine,” before she tells the driver she intends to steal an Israeli flag—which she does.
The car passes, and “Abed tries to grab several flags before she was able to grab the flag from 88-year-old Mr. Sacke,” wrote Borenstein.
“One of the demonstrators is seen on the video immediately reaching into the back seat trying to grab the flag and, in so doing, strikes Abed.”
The car carrying Abed drives forward, but rear-ends a stopped car, at which point “various demonstrators ran up to Abed’s car and began kicking and hitting it with flagpoles. It became an instant chaotic situation. Precipitated by Abed grabbing the flag from Mr. Sacke,” wrote the judge.
“As protesters surrounded and were hitting Abed’s car, Abed, her brother and father got out of the car to engage with the protesters. Abed is seen on video grabbing Mr. Sacke from behind with a hand over his shoulder and one hand over his torso as he goes to the ground.”
Sacke was thrown down beside a TTC bus and a video from one of its cameras shows the hectic scene, including the moment Abed emerges from the car, and in a struggle with Sacke over a handheld flagpole, grabs him by the shoulders and throws him to the ground.
“He [Sacke] is 88 years old and was injured. He was taken to the hospital for treatment. His injuries continue to this day,” wrote Borenstein.
The video evidence also played a role in the plea bargain that resulted in the assault charge being dropped.
After Abed grabs the flag, pro-Israel demonstrators surround her family’s car and begin to kick the car and poke flagpoles at it.
That escalation continues when Abed gets out one side and becomes entangled with Sacke and another rally-goer. While struggling with Sacke, she throws him down, and her own hijab is pulled off, exposing her hair.
The TTC video also shows an entirely separate fistfight that breaks out on the other side of the car, with Abed’s brother, and father, seen brawling with a pro-Israel protester who runs over to their car. (Two other people were arrested at the same time as Abed in August, according to the initial Toronto Police post on social media on the same day.)
Bruised senior responds
Joel Sacke, who still has not regained his flag—nor the pair of glasses that were lost in the fracas—says he’s relieved these proceedings are done, yet he is “totally dissatisfied” with the result.
“As an individual, I found the whole thing very stressful and very depressing and I’m relieved that it’s over. But as a member of the community, this doesn’t work. I’m totally dissatisfied,” said Sacke, who immigrated to Canada from South Africa in 1986.
“The community deserves much better… what happened to our community was absolutely disgraceful, totally unacceptable, and [the court outcome] gives a licence: ‘Oh yes, you can go and beat up Jews. It’s OK. Nothing happens to you. You get a slap on the wrist,’” he told The CJN following the judge’s decision.
“As far as the community is concerned, no—this is totally unsatisfactory and I want to take it further. This was the criminal case in which the justice system, for whatever reason, found that they would not charge the assailant with assault,” said Sacke.
“An innocent, respectable, respectful citizen… just going about normal activities was assaulted. I know that this is not permissible, and I do believe that justice must be done,” he said. “I don’t believe that justice was done.”
Lawyer reacts to the verdict
Jody Berkes, the lawyer who represented Sacke in the Ontario Court of Justice criminal proceedings, acknowledged his client’s frustration with the assault charge being dropped, and explained the factors supporting the self-defence argument.
“The Crown put on the record that, because people surrounded [Ms. Abed]’s car, people were banging on the vehicle—and various other people were trying to get at the people in the vehicle—that Ms. Abed would have a viable self defence argument and the Crown was not going to be in a position to disprove that, and so that’s why there was a resolution for the offence instead of [continuing with charges for] an assault itself.”
The lawyer also says the judge considered all factors in his sentencing decision, including the victim and community impact statements submitted, respectively, by Sacke and Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center.
The judge also took into account 18-year-old Abed’s age at the time of the offence.
“Perhaps we can understand her lack of insight. But the courts need to take this [offence] seriously, and the judge did take this seriously,” said Berkes.
Borenstein wrote that the March 11 sentencing hearing’s focus was “denouncing this conduct while balancing Ms. Abed’s rehabilitative prospects,” outlining his reasons for the decision and for including the impact statements as evidence.
“That is not free speech,” said Berkes. “The judge really did understand what he was dealing with,” he said, and despite the “disposition” resolution, or plea bargain—which will eventually erase any criminal record for Abed—he says Borenstein’s decision addressed “important issues” at the heart of the case.
“As a society, we place great value on freedom of thought, expression and peaceful assembly,” wrote Borenstein.
“The defence submits this was akin to a hockey game where one fan grabbed the flag of the other team. With respect, that misses the mark,” the judge wrote.
“This is one of the most, heated issues we have seen in a long time. People have been killed on both sides of this conflict. Passions are very strong. As is clear in this case and is clear from the victim impact statements, this is not like stealing a hockey team’s flag.”
Sacke had “attended the rally and carried the Israeli flag to draw attention to the kidnapped hostages and to support each other,” wrote Borenstein, adding that Sacke “and everyone have the right to peacefully assemble, to gather and to express their views” and finding that “Ms. Abed chose to provoke them, to engage in conduct intended to undermine their right to peacefully assemble and their sense of peace and security.” (The “entire series of events that day were set in motion” by Abed’s provocation with the flag, the decision states.)
Justice Borenstein acknowledged “the aggravating and mitigating circumstance of this case,” including both Abed’s behaviour and her young age.
“In one superficial sense, this may be seen as merely grabbing a flag. But in the context of what is going on in the world, that is plainly not the case and Ms. Abed knew it full well. There are mischiefs and then there are mischiefs. Ms. Abed intended to and did violate Mr. Sacke’s and his community’s sense of peace and security. It was meant to show their assembly and support cannot be expressed publicly without being met with aggressive behaviour,” wrote Borenstein, who found the conduct “is itself aggravating as is the impact on Mr. Sacke and his community.”
Abed’s lawyer “said she made a foolish decision at a political rally,” wrote Borenstein.
“A discharge will mean she will be unburdened by a criminal record and can live a pro-social life without a record if she chooses to. Her rehabilitation in view of her age, her lack of record and her plea of guilty are important considerations however, given the context, so too is denouncing this conduct.”
Civil lawsuit considered
Sacke is now soliciting assistance to launch a civil lawsuit, putting out feelers for pro bono legal support. It’s the first time in his life that he’s been involved in a court case.
“I’ve been suffering from depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. I have sleepless nights. I’m fortunate that my family, my two sons and daughter, have been very supportive,” he said.
“Even now, my sons say: ‘Dad, it’s up to you. We understand how stressful this is. And as an individual, [if] you want to leave it alone, fine. But we agree with you, as a member of the community, we cannot just let this thing just fade away into the distance.’”
In his reasons for the decision issued March 11, Justice Borenstein considered Sacke’s victim impact statement, which Abed’s lawyer wanted to be deemed inadmissible, since Sacke was not named in the agreed statement of facts.
Writing that Sacke was the “direct victim” of the offence, Borenstein said he would not ignore “where he writes about the consequences of being thrown to the ground” in his statement “just because Ms. Abed did not plead guilty to assault.”
In his victim impact statement, Sacke wrote:
“Every day I say this to myself. Why did this happen to me? On October 7, 2023, Hamas terrorists from Gaza invaded Israel, murdered 1,200 civilians and took 251 civilians as hostages. Since then, the Jewish community gathers at Bathurst and Sheppard every Sunday to pray for the safe return of the hostages, lend each other support and keep the memory of those murdered alive.
“I was carrying an Israeli flag to show my support for those murdered and taken hostage. I wanted to participate in a community in a part of town where we were welcome. What did I do that made Ms. Abed so angry with me that she grabbed my flag and threw me to the ground? Why am I being punished by being depressed in this way?”
The judge also admitted a community impact statement from Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) that said Abed disrupted the rally’s space of “collective mourning and solidarity” and that “the Israeli flag waved at these gatherings” represents “grief, resilience, and remembrance for the Jewish community.”
“The forceful removal of this flag by Ms. Abed was not only an affront to the individual involved but also an act that unsettled an entire community still grappling with the horrors of recent events,” wrote FSWC.
“Such acts are especially harmful because they embolden prejudice, foster division, and undermine the fundamental principles of respect and equality that underpin our liberal democracy.”
The letter detailed detailed additional impacts of the flag grabbing incident and physical confrontations on Jewish community members.
“For many Holocaust survivors and their descendants in this neighbourhood, this action rekindled painful memories of persecution and the denial of their right to live freely and proudly,” FSWC wrote.
Joel Sacke has rarely missed a Sunday rally on Bathurst Street before or since the one in August when he was assaulted. He also attends the weekly rally in nearby Thornhill, which assembles at the Promenade Mall.
“I go to the Bathurst and Sheppard rally every single week. The only time I missed was when I was in Israel, but I haven’t missed a single rally. And I intend to carry on until all the hostages are released,” said Sacke.
“On the other side of the street, the pro-Palestinians are constantly taunting and provoking, making hand gestures, screaming obscenities, which is exactly what we are not doing,” he said. “It would appear that they are seeking confrontation.”
Sunday rallies continue
Since last fall, this Sunday scene has consistently become the site of counter-protests, and the surrounding interactions have led to an increase in arrests at the weekly event.
On Feb. 9, a 48-year-old woman was arrested on mischief charges for allegedly grabbing another demonstrator’s flag, along with a charge for disguise with intent.
On Feb. 23, a 37-year-old man was arrested for assault when he “approached the opposing group of demonstrators and assaulted a [woman] using a weapon,” according to a Toronto police media release.
Social media videos show that the counter-protester appeared to shove a stuffed animal at the demonstrator, seemingly a mocking nod to the community outpouring of grief for the slain Bibas children who were taken as hostages during the Oct. 7 attacks, and were murdered in Gaza.
For now, Joel Sacke has a chance to rest and recharge before continuing his quest for justice. He remains adamant the incident does not go unanswered, or give licence to other acts endangering the safety of those who publicly support Israel.
“The community needs to know that this is a crime that has to be brought to the attention,” he said. “Not only of the citizens of Toronto, of the citizens of Ontario, but in Canada, we do not allow this sort of thing to happen, to go unpunished… to give a licence to others to commit this kind of violence.”
