November 2025
Re: “Unvarnished Hatred” (Brian Passifiume, Toronto Sun, 11 Nov): A rather disturbing video was posted by independent journalist and lawyer Caryma Sa’d, showing a group of pro-Hamas agitators marching through a Jewish neighbourhood, is receiving a dismissive reaction from Toronto Police. Their official stance is that this march is to dismiss it as a Charter-protected right.
I would like to know who, if anyone, is advising Toronto Police on what qualifies as a Charter-protected right. I strongly disagree assessment. This gang are admittedly anti-Zionist, obviously antisemitic, and have no intention of engaging in civil dialogue with the residents. Their sole purpose with marching through the neighbourhood is very clearly to harass and intimidate the residents of the neighbourhood, just like during their weekly protests at the corner of Sheppard and Bathurst.
While still reprehensible, their protest would be more appropriately held in front of the Israeli Consulate on Bloor Street, or Toronto City Hall. There is no legitimate excuse for their actions, as seen in this video and many of the other videos shot by Caryma Sa’d, Rebel News and other media. There is also no excuse for the failure of Toronto Police to allow these agitators to march through a residential neighbourhood unaccompanied. I don’t care if the police were “monitoring” the situation from a distance, nor with the hands-off approach to the almost daily protests across the city.
Chief Demkiw, it’s time to take the handcuffs off your officers and allow them to enforce the law, arresting these thugs when needed. It won’t look pretty, but the hands-off approach your political masters have instructed you to take have only succeeded in emboldening these pro-Hamas agitators. The time for cracking some heads, hopefully only figuratively, is right now (actually two years ago), lest we lose complete control. For the most part, your officers have only been interested in being hands-on with those on the pro-Israel side, like with Ezra Levant of Rebel News, and me, for the “crime” of taking pictures and video, while peacefully and civilly standing on a public sidewalk. The intent was your officer’s actions was that our “…mere presence was inciting a breach of the peace by the pro-Hamas activists…”
In a recent court ruling, Fleming v Ontario (2019), the Supreme Court of Canada ruled unanimously that police and peace officers can’t arrest a lawful person, who is doing nothing illegal, just because someone else may breach the peace. In other words, you can’t punish the victim.
Toronto Police certainly haven’t been afraid to use such tactics before, including the use of mounted unit officers. Recent examples include the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa in February 2022 and Adam’s BBQ restaurant in Etobicoke in November 2020. Once again, it’s a great day if police don’t have to arrest or get physical with anyone, but this lack of action towards those who can easily be described as violent bullies has quite obviously emboldened these pro-Hamas agitators to continue to be threatening and violent bullies.
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The original column that inspired my column:
Answers sought after anti-Israel marchers intimidate Jewish neigbourhood
“Zionist, you don’t own this,” keffiyeh-wearing protestor yells at resident during intimidation march, while police maintain the protestors were in their rights
Published Nov 10, 2025
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OTTAWA — Toronto’s Jewish community is demanding answers after Toronto Police permitted anti-Israel demonstrators to lead yet another intimidation march through Jewish neighbourhoods, threatening one resident they’d be back to harass her later.
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And in a statement to the Toronto Sun, Toronto Police responded to those concerns by maintaining the marchers have a “Charter right” to demonstrate wherever they like.
According to witnesses, a group of masked pro-Palestinian marchers broke off from an organized anti-Israel rally on Sunday, near Bathurst St. and Sheppard Ave. — a regular occurrence since Toronto’s explosion of anti-Jewish demonstrations since the Oct. 7 2023 Hamas terror attacks — and took their grievances to the homes of area residents.
Masked marchers surround, taunt resident
While police supervised the Bathurst rally, witness said they chose not to follow the group as they marched north up Hove St. — just west of the intersection — and across Cocksfield Ave.
In video shot by protest watcher Caryma Sa’d, protestors can be seen harassing a woman standing on the sidewalk, who was told to “go f–k herself” by marchers.
Can @TorontoPolice @TPSOperations confirm if @MayorOliviaChow advised full authorization for the terrorist sympathizers to harass Jews outside of their homes or is this lazy police work in ensuring they didn’t venture off?pic.twitter.com/Jo11pIbcAz— Leviathan (@l3v1at4an) November 9, 2025
When the woman told the protestor to “get lost,” a man carrying a Palestinian flag wearing a red keffiyeh asked the woman if she “teaches her kids to kill babies,” while repeatedly referring to her a “zionist.”
“Zionist, you don’t own this, this is not occupied Palestine,” the man pointing his finger in her face.
“Teach your kids how to be decent humans.”
Protesters then surrounded the woman and her family.
Protestor threatens to harass woman’s home
One man, his face covered with a black keffiyeh, threatened to continue harassing the woman and her family.
“That kind of attitude is only going to ensure I stay here all night long,” the masked thug told her.
Another man, wearing a beard and carrying a sign sporting the face of Ontario’s Jewish Solicitor General Michael Kerzner, accused the woman of herself intimidating the marchers.
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“What do you call a zionist Karen? A Zaren!” taunted the man in the red keyiffah, to laughter from the rest of the group.
When contacted for comment, Toronto Police spokesperson Nadine Ramadan maintained the protesters had a Charter-protected right to march — including sidewalks within the community — and insisted police were monitoring the group, despite witnesses telling the Toronto Sun that no police were in sight.
“We will continue to uphold the constitutional right to free speech and assembly, and our stance is very clear that those freedoms end when criminal behaviour begins,” she wrote.
Read More
- Olivia Chow’s ‘genocide’ remarks spark calls for apology, resignation
- Palestinians support Hamas, reject disarming: poll
Intimidation common at Toronto’s pro-Palestinian rallies
Anti-Israel activists regularly hold intimidation marches through Toronto’s Jewish neighbourhoods, leaving members of the community wondering why police and lawmakers continue to tolerate it.
“Marching through a residential neighbourhood while masked, and accosting residents with antisemitic accusations while they are on their private property, is not what the drafters of our Charter envisioned when they enshrined freedom of assembly as a protected right,” B’nai Brith Canada’s Richard Robertson told the Sun.
“Resorting to intimidation and hate to express one’s views makes a mockery of, and jeopardizes, the ability of all Canadians to engage in bona fide forms of protest.”
Police need to stop permitting hatred, advocates urge
Former Canadian Ambassador to Israel Vivian Bercovici told the Sun that Jewish communities, religious centres and businesses are regularly harassed, and urged police to take action.
“This conduct is neither peaceful, as Chief Myron Demkiw maintains, nor is it an acceptable exercise of constitutional rights,” she said.
“It is unvarnished, uncontrolled Jew hatred, licensed and emboldened by law enforcement and political leadership at all levels.”
Robertson urged the city and police to stop standing at the sidelines and take action, and once and for all prevent anti-Israel activists from intimidating Toronto’s Jews at their own homes.
“They serve no purpose other than to incite and intimidate,” he said.
“There are many areas in Toronto where it is acceptable to assemble to exercise our collective rights, but the continued corruption of the sanctity of our residential neighbourhoods must end.”
Sources: Anti-Jewish hate in Toronto reaching breaking point, advocate says | Toronto Sun, Facebook – Caryma Rules.
