About 2,000 anti-Israel protesters turned up in downtown Toronto on March 23 for the annual Al-Quds Day march in support of a free Palestine.
Ahead of the event, calls to ban these events in cities across Canada were especially loud this year. In the past, the rallies—which happen globally—have seen protesters dressed up as suicide bombers, explicit calls for the destruction of Israel, Holocaust distortion, and flags for nationally-banned terrorist organizations, including Hezbollah, Hamas, Samidoun and the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
While Toronto police had vowed, days earlier, to beef up their presence at the event and look out for hateful activity, their response has been called a “Band-Aid” approach to address spiking antisemitism in the country. Police did ensure that roughly 25 pro-Israel counter-protesters stood peacefully across the street from the main activity–playing “O Canada” loudly, on repeat, while waving Israeli and Canadian flags.
The CJN Daily‘s host Ellin Bessner went to cover the event and clearly heard antisemitic chants of “Go Back to Europe” aimed at the tiny but loud group of Jews. She saw anti-Israel Jews calling Zionism “Satanism”. And she herself was followed, harassed and chased off of a public city sidewalk and street by anti-Israel protesters when they discovered she worked for a Jewish news organization.
Related links
- Why Jewish groups and some politicians feel the annual Al-Quds marches in Canada need to be banned as hate fests, in The CJN.
- Why is Canada doing nothing about terror-banned group Samidoun leaders travelling to Beirut for Hezbollah leader’s funeral, in The CJN.
- How to submit your opinion to Toronto city council on the so called “bubble legislation” aimed at preventing protests from getting too close to places of worship, before May 1.
Transcript:
Sounds : Free free Palestine..
Ellin Bessner
That’s some of what it sounded like Sunday at the annual Al-Quds day protest and march through downtown Toronto. In recent weeks, there had been a lot of talk about these events, while Jewish advocacy groups tried unsuccessfully to convince the mayors of Toronto, Vancouver, Calgary, and Montreal to stop them.
The late revolutionary leader of Iran, the Ayatollah Khomeini, founded Al-Quds Day 46 years ago in support of Palestine and calling for the destruction of Israel. And these marches take place all over the world at the end of Ramadan. Over the years, critics say the marches have morphed into vehicles that spew anti-Semitic hatred, intimidate Jews, distort the Holocaust, and support terrorist groups, including Iran proxies like Hamas and Hezbollah and Samidoun and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps, all which Canada has now listed as banned terrorist organizations. The last two made the list just within the last year.
It was felt that tensions could be heightened this year because Israel recently resumed its military campaign in Gaza after Hamas rejected conditions to free the remaining hostages.
Some Jewish community leaders urged people to stay away and not to counter-protest.
I spent about 2 1/2 hours there, and I can tell you I clearly did hear pro-Palestinian protesters yelling through megaphones that Jews should go back to Europe. There were lots of signs and chants of from the river to the sea and brick by brick and resistance is justified, Zionism is terrorism. An anti-Israel pro-Palestinian rabbi got loud cheers when he described Zionism as selfish Satanism. And I was followed, harassed and intimidated several times by people who made it clear there is no room at these rallies held on public city sidewalks –with Toronto police all around–for Jews who are Zionists, only for those Jews who are anti-Israel, which is why some Jewish advocacy groups this week have connected the dots between these rallies and the recent very serious terrorism-related charges laid by Toronto police against suspects who allegedly were motivated by hatred against Jews and suspected of firebombing synagogues, vandalizing Jewish restaurants and advocating genocide against Jews on social media.
Richard Robinson, B’nai Brith Canada
Incidents like the recent arrests and the shocking hate crimes targeting the Jewish community, really a spree of hate crimes that were revealed in that arrest, things like that don’t happen in a vacuum. And it’s by allowing hate fests like Al-Qudsday to foment on our streets that enables the indoctrination, the radicalization, and creates an environment where people, nefarious actors, feel emboldened to target the community and to engage in the dangerous behavior that we are witnessing.
Ellin Bessner
I’m Ellin Bessner and this is what Jewish Canada sounds like for Monday, March the 24th, 2025. Welcome to The CJN Daily, a podcast of the Canadian Jewish News and made possible in part thanks to the generous support of the Ira Gluskin and Maxine Gronovsky Gluskin Charitable Foundation.
I tried to approach covering this Al Q Kudz event with an open mind. I’ve been to lots of demonstrations since October 7th, and I know these kinds of events often attract a motley crew of anarchists and socialists and Mohawk warrior supporters and Jews who say no to genocide, and folks who’ve been part of the university encampment protests. I was a little bit anxious, I have to admit, but I was also determined to try to interview folks in the anti-Israel crowd. and the police, and any Jewish pro-Israel folks who I knew were planning to show up.
Surprisingly, a couple of people arrived carrying big Canadian flags and started blasting the unofficial Scottish anthem, Scotland the Brave, to try to drown out the pro-Palestinian protester soundtrack. Toronto police ordered them to relocate a bit farther away. Speaking of police, there were a lot of police on hand. I saw a helicopter, the public safety response team, police with bicycles, their crisis negotiation unit, officers with body cameras, an officer was wearing a vest that read scribe to take down details on any confrontations. Toronto police had promised their hate crime officers would be on the scene too, recording possible infractions, either to press charges now or more likely later.
Before this rally, police had said they would be out in force, balancing the right to protest with the need to maintain public order and public safety and to keep their own officers safe. I did see one police officer order a protester to take his sign down and put it in a garbage bag. That sign showed a Star of David with a swastika on top of it, and the words “IDF, the reality” with red blood dripping off the letters. As happens in most of these protests in Toronto since October 7th, the police tried to keep the anti- and pro-Israel folks separated.
Police:
Yeah, so we’re here to make sure you guys are, you’re safe, lawful, and peaceful. If there’s anything you guys need, obviously you can reach out. So this is the area that you’re allocated to stay here. We recommend you guys stay here. And we’re not here to stop you guys from protesting. We’re just here to ensure that all parties can safely protest without any issues, okay? All right, guys.
Ellin bessner
There were about 25 pro-Jewish members of the group TAFSIK who were gathering on the northeast corner with Canadian flags and loudspeakers intending to blast O Canada on repeat. Here’s TAFSIK spokesman Amir Epstein.
Amir Epstein
They’re here celebrating Al-Qus Day. Al-Quz Day is the Islamic regime’s call for destruction of the entire West. I don’t know how it’s possible that you can do that in the West. You’re in Canada and calling for the destruction in Canada. A message that is being shared around the world by what is a Canadian designated terrorist organization. It’s illegal. And the police in Canada, they just want to let them do anything they want just so they don’t have to cause any trouble. So all we’re doing here is coming here to remind them that they’re in Canada. They’re not in a part of the IRGC in Tehran. In Canada, we don’t celebrate terrorism. We celebrate Canada. So we’re going to play the national anthem to remind them which country they’re in right now. And that’s it.
Ellin BessnerL
What do you have to say to Mayor Chow and the mayors of the other cities where this same event is going to happen over the next few days?
Amir Epstein
Well, our premier 10 years ago tweeted that, oh, we’re going to stop this and this is going to be… He has not been held to his promise. Of course, I’m not surprised. And Olivia Chow, she’s one of their little muppets, so I can’t expect her to do anything on her own. She doesn’t have the capacity to make her own decisions and her own opinions. She just follows whatever the jihadists tell her to do. So what am I expecting from her? Absolutely nothing. Nobody expects anything from Olivia Chow.
Ellin Bessner
What I do want to say is today they’ve called the election, and so the writ has been dropped. This is the backdrop to today’s rally. How does that, how do you navigate the two?
Amir Epstein
My God, how do you navigate it to it? There’s going to be an election. The Canadians are going to decide who they want. Either they’re going to want the party that stands up for Canadians first, and that includes lots of different communities. When I say Canadians first, I’m talking about the Jewish Canadians. I’m talking about Hindu Canadians. I’m talking about Christians. Anyone who lives in this country that knows what a privilege it is to be here, that celebrates this nation, that’s who I mean by Canadians, including Muslims, including every group of people that come here and just want a good life. The people that we oppose is, I’m not going to mention names, but the government that supports these Canadian-hating jihadis, Islamists, communists and Marxists who wish nothing but destruction in our country. So either you vote for the guy who’s going to allow this to continue, or you can vote for the guy who’s like, no thanks, Canada first. We’re going to make sure we bring back what our Canadian values are. Remember the Molson Canadian ad? I am Canadian.
Ellin BEssner
They have a new one out now.
Amir Epstein
So instead of I am Canadian, now we’re embarrassed to say we’re Canadian. We’re meant to feel ashamed. It’s ridiculous. It’s really the most unpatriotic. And this is what the people here are doing. And that’s not what we stand for. We stand for Canadian rights.
Ellin Bessner
Thanks, Amir. Thank you so much.
Ellin Bessner
While they did blast O Canada, the Tafsik group also started hurling insults at the pro-Palestinians. And you may be able to hear the response. which is, where are you from, Poland, go back to Europe, and apologies in advance for some of the language.
Tafsik: and al quds protestors taunting each other:
We’re all anti-women, you’re anti-Christian, you’re anti-Jew, you’re anti-disgusting fills. All of you are filths. Go back, go celebrate the IRGC. This is Canada. This is Canada. All Canada, you disgusting people. Go back to Europe, you ******* go back to Europe. ******* idiot! Get the **** out of here! Salman Seema, the Hezbollah supporter! Go back to Yara.
Ellin Bessner
I then went over to the main location of the Al-Quds event, which was right outside Toronto’s Superior Courthouse on University Avenue, directly opposite the U.S. Consulate. They had a large blue mat for prayers on one side, and they’d set up a stage in front of a famous Toronto landmark, a metal sculpture of human figures representing 11 members of a jury. The piece is entitled Pillars of Justice. It’s been there for nearly 20 years. I’m sure the organizers did not realize it was designed by Winston Churchill’s granddaughter, Edwina Sands, who lives for part of the year in Palm Beach, and she’s contributed to Jewish events. also by the late Jewish Toronto sculptor, Morton Katz. At any rate, the stage was adorned with protest banners saying, Zionism is racism, genocide in Palestine, from the river to the sea, Israel apartheid. One man carried a package he meant to resemble a dead Palestinian child wrapped in white cloth. He held it up high with a sign that read, one of 16,000 children killed in Gaza.
I was asked what my religion was and whether I was a Zionist when I tried to interview a protester who was setting out laminated posters of Palestinians who he said had been killed in Gaza. He wouldn’t give me his name. He didn’t wear a mask. He walked away at first, but I waited and he came back to explain what these posters meant to him. They remind me of the posters of Israeli hostages carried at many Jewish events since October 7th.
Poster holder:
This person’s name is Jamal, four months old. He died of thirst and hunger in his mother’s arms on January 18, 2024, after being forced by the Israeli army to leave their home and to take a refuge in the tent in the courtyard of a school in Davila. These are all about people that have been murdered by Israel.
Ellin Bessner
Did you make these yourself?
Poster holder
I did.
Ellin Bessner
And how does it… It is to navigate through all this stuff that you’re coming to do your side.
Poster holder
They come from this website, Gaza Faces, in French and English. Well, go have a look, because there’s thousands of people that have been murdered by Israel. Thousands.
Ellin Bessner
And both sides have their own.
Organizer:
Sfx:L To take a moment to read a statement.
Ellin Bessner
When the main event got underway, I headed back towards the stage. The MC greeted the crowd with their founding principles.
MC:
We oppose all. all forms of bigotry and racism, including Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, and anti-Palestinian hate speech. We impose Zionism, but not Judaism. We reject the claim that Zionism and Judaism are one and the same. We believe that the goals of Zionism are discriminatory and are profoundly inconsistent with the values of Judaism.
Ellin
She instructed the crowd not to talk to journalists who she called fake news and were working for the Zionists. And if they saw a reporter, they should inform the protest marshals. Several young Muslim women began staring at me and whispering, but I stayed where I was. I figured there must have been about 2,000 people at this protest. Many Muslim families came. Many had come on specially chartered school buses carrying groups of women and children. Four members of the Jewish Haredi sect called Neturei Karta were given pride of place on the stage. They are anti-Israel, anti-Zionist, pro-Palestinians. One carried a sign that said, Israel carries out atrocities. It had a Star of David shaped out of barbed wire. The head of their sect, Rabbi Israel Dovid Weiss, lives in Mondzi, New York. He’s been a regular at these Al-Quds events for years. It’s reported he went to Iran in 2006. It’s also reported that during a visit to Beirut, he sent a gift to the now slain former Hezbollah chief, Hassan Nasrallah. The sect’s views have been censured by much of the Orthodox Jewish world. I wish I could play you his entire long speech so you could hear him say how his grandparents died in Auschwitz and it was selfish Zionists who used the Holocaust to steal a homeland for themselves. Jews aren’t allowed to have a homeland. The audience cheered and clapped at his words.
Rabbi Israel Dovid Weiss
To a base, selfish endeavor, to acquire a homeland for a group of people with their selfish aspirations nothing more the people who created the Zionism were heretics they detested anything that had to do with God Theodor Herzl, Ben-Gurion, Chaim Weizman, Jabotinsky these were heretics They didn’t even profess to have anything to do with religion. And yet, they have the audacity, the chutzpah, the hubris, to go around using the Star of David and the name Israel as a facade for their crime, for their taking the land of another people. Judaism, since the destruction of the temple 2,000 years ago, does not even permit the Jewish people to create their own sovereignty, their own homeland. Even 1 centimeter of homeland is forbidden. And Jews respected this the 2,000 years we went through the Crusades, the Inquisition, so much suffering, yet we never established or attempted to. a Jewish homeland because it’s forbidden. It’s a godly decree and exile until ultimately God will make a metaphysical change in the world where all humanity will recognize one God and come together and serve him in harmony.
Ellin Bessner
I didn’t intend to become part of this story, but I need to tell you how I was eventually chased out of the protest by a handful of anti-Israel protesters. They confronted me, they asked me where I worked, and then they stood in front of me, blocking my view. When I moved, they followed. When I moved again to the street, they followed. They followed me all around the perimeter, even when I was far away. I learned later one is a father and son, who I’m told harass and film journalists at every anti-Israel rally. Here’s what it sounded like. I held my ground until I couldn’t.
Ellin Bessner and Harrasser
Sorry, you’re in my face. You’re in my way. You’re in my way. You’re in my way. Go together. Go together. No, no. No, you go, OK. No, no. I’m a Canadian journalist. I am going in also.
Ellin Bessner
CTV, CBC, government, so don’t botherme.
Protester
I am not bothering you. I am working with you.
Ellin Bessner
All right, so we walk around. I’m trying to do my job.
Protester
And you’re trying to– What’s your job exactly?
Ellin Bessner
So this man wouldn’t let me do my job because he’s trying to block us and I’m getting thrown out by somebody from the protest. And he’s standing in front of me. Can you give me your name? Can you give me your name?
Protester
Who are you to give you your name?
Ellin Bessner
I’m Elln Bessner and I’m a journalist. Canadian Jewish News. Leave me alone.
Protester
Again, again, what?
Canadian Jewish News. 65 years. Both sides.
Protester
Okay.
Ellin Bessner
You don’t know what I am and leave me alone.
Protester
I don’t care about you.
Ellin Bessner
Fine, so we don’t talk. I’m doing my two talks with you.
Protester
I am talking with you.
Ellin Bessner
Right, so move out of my way.
Protester
I can’t walk. This is my space.
Ellin Bessner
Okay, I’m going to go up here and you leave me alone. So now there’s three guys following me and trying to let me block me and not let me see and walking and taking my picture and I’m going to report them to the police.
Ellin Bessner
When I appealed to a couple of Toronto police officers that I was being blocked from trying to do my job, one of them told me, go back and tell them they can’t harass you. So I did. And then these fellows began filming me. I blocked their camera with my hand. They started yelling. I asked them to let me in. They said I was provoking tensions and it was all my fault. The crowd was getting upset.
Ellin Bessner
Go away from me. I’m doing my job. Leave me alone. Leave me alone. They’re harassing me. I’m trying to do my job and they won’t let me go when they’re following me.
Ellin Bessner
Getting in wasn’t going to happen without me getting hurt, so I backed away from my own safety. Barred from doing my job and from standing in a public plaza outside the courthouse where my late grandfather had been the first Jewish Superior Court judge sworn in Ontario just because I work for a Jewish newspaper. It was upsetting and disgusting, and the police did nothing. Other journalists were able to stay, like the camera crews for CTV and City TV. I stayed about 2 1/2 hours at the protest. and then I left before the crowd began to march through the city. I didn’t see if anyone had been arrested. Toronto police didn’t release any updates before press time. Earlier in the week, the CJN’s Jonathan Rothman interviewed Bnei Brist’s Director of Research and Advocacy, Richard Robertson, about why it was so important that these Al-Quds rallies be banned. Here’s some of that interview.
Richard Roberston
It’s something that Bnei Brith Canada has believed strongly in for some time, that allowing a day where hate is continuously propagated and where division is sowed on our streets is antithetical to our morals and values as a society. And that’s why we continued our call this year for municipalities to ban Al Cuds Day, and we’ll continue this call in the future.
Jonathan Rothman
And what can you tell us about the status of this event on that kind of a national scale in terms of, I know, that the campaign is focusing on four cities.
Richard Robertson
So Al-Quds Day is an international event. It occurs on the last Friday in Ramadan. We’ve chosen to focus specifically on four municipalities because those are the four municipalities where we’ve seen the largest and the most virulent Al-Quds Day celebrations on an annual basis. That doesn’t mean that Al-Quds Day will not be a problem across the country. It doesn’t mean that this is something that shouldn’t be of a national concern. The idea that Canadians will take to the streets to promote the agenda of associated with the listed terror entity is should be of concern to all Canadians.
Jonathan Rothman
Do we know anything about cooperation between different levels of government in other cities beyond Toronto?
Richard Robertson
We know that on a whole, the RCMP has its INSET teams and the INSET teams are responsible for matters related to national security. We know that the inset teams cooperate closely with law enforcement at all levels. So it’s our hope that the INSET teams will monitor all Al Q uds Day rallies for the potential for there to be links between the Al Quds Day rallies and national security threats. It’s not the place of Toronto police, obviously, to ban Al-Quds day. This needs to come from our political leadership. In the past, some of the justifications for allowing Al-Quds day to occur have been charter-related arguments. Although our charter rights are not absolute here in Canada, and it’s the position of B’nai B’rith that the preventing of the annual hate fest that is Al-Quds Day, especially given its links to listed terror entities and to the sanctioned Islamic regime, would be well within the reasonable limitations that governments can impose upon citizens’ charter rights here in Canada. We have full faith in the ability of law enforcement across the country to monitor and to manage Al-Quds Day rallies. However, those are band-aid solutions that will result in charges being laid after the fact if there is any criminal or nefarious activity. We know for a fact, based on our review historically of Al Quds Day celebrations, that these are rallies that are used to foment hate, where hate speech and anti-Semitic rhetoric are front and center in the discussion. So rather than the Band-Aid fix of enforcing the law, we believe it’s incumbent that the proactive measures are taken to prevent these protests from occurring in the first place.
Jonathan RothmaN
Have any mayors or their staff responded to the call in the four cities.
Richard Robertson
At present, no, unfortunately. And that’s despite our campaign, which has seen thousands of letters sent to the mayors of Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal, and Toronto.
Jonathan Rothman
Taken together in this moment with the preparations for this Al-Quds Day and now this arrest, long list of charges that are very concerning, Is there anything that you take away from this moment?
Richard Robertson
The rise in antisemitism, the continued revealing of threats, specifically targeting the Jewish community, are all indicative that this is a critical moment in the history of Canada’s Jewish community. Now is the time for our leaders to take action to ensure the continued vitality of Canada’s Jewish community. It is unacceptable for a community to continue to be targeted by potential acts of terror and hate crimes, as we’ve seen repeatedly now across the country. It’s unacceptable for police officers to be fomenting or disregarding the hate which has been directed at the community. And it’s highly concerning that civic leaders across the country have failed to understand that an event like Al-Quds Day cannot be separated from the incitement in the division that we are witnessing across Canada. In the time to act really is now, the Jewish community has been enduring an unprecedented wave of hate and incitement now for over a year. We as a community remain strong in our confronting this head-on, but it’s time now for our elected officials, our civic leaders, our stakeholders, and law enforcement to do their part to ensure that we can bring an end to this really dark time in Canada’s Jewish history. It’s important that we not allow our municipal officials, our leaders, to view these as isolated incidents. It’s important that they appreciate the nexus between the events that are fueling hate in the city and across Canada, and the real repercussions, the criminal actions that are resulting.
Ellin Bessneer
And that’s what Jewish Canada sounds like for this episode of the CJN Daily, made possible in part thanks to the generous support of the Ira Gluskin and Maxine Granovsky Gluskin Charitable Foundation.
The CJN reached out to Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow’s office for a comment. We did not get a reply. Three Jewish members of Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s cabinet tweeted that hate has no place here and they hoped police would do their jobs. The Premier did not say anything.
Toronto Police held public consultations last summer on how they should handle all these protests since October 7th. We haven’t been told yet what they’ve decided to do. Meanwhile, there’s an online survey open until May 1st on the city’s plan to manage protests near places of worship or synagogues, so-called bubble legislation, which has been stalled now while more consultations are done. We put the link in our show notes if you want to send in your opinion.
The show is produced by Zachary Judah Kaufman. Our executive producer is Michael Freeman. The editorial director is Mark Weisblott. The music is by Dov Beck levine. And I thank you for listening.
Credits
- Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)
- Production team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
- Music: Dov Beck-Levine
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