4 May 2025
It’s another Sunday and members of Toronto’s Jewish community gathered at the intersection of Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue, just as they have for the past 79 weeks, in the wake of the horrific terrorist attack and slaughter of peaceful Israeli citizens attending the Nova Music Festival near Kibbutz Re’im in Israel.
On a cool, but pleasant Spring day, Toronto-area Jews and their supporters proudly waved Israeli flags as passing cars honked their support. Across the street, as they have been for the past year-and-a-half, are the anti-Semitic Hamas supporters, proudly waving their Palestinian flags and shouting the usual chants that call for the destruction of Israel and the death to Jews across the world.
Supporting the pro-Hamas agitators are their useful idiots, Neturei Karta, an anti-Zionist Haredi Orthodox Jewish organization that advocates for Palestinian nationalism. Neturei Karta opposes the creation of the State of Israel, and believes that Jewish exile from the Holy Land must continue until the coming of the Hebrew Messiah.
As I had other commitments on this day, I got to Bathurst and Sheppard around 2 pm. I was surprised to see that the pro-Israel crowd far out-numbered the Hamas agitators, who were down to just a handful of protesters. Strange.
I understand that it was late in the day, but did these goons have another protest to attend? They’re being paid to do a job, so where were the rest of the mob? Does being a paid protester not pay as much as we thought? Did the others have to leave the protest and go to their day job?
We could only hope that the pro-Hamas agitators are losing their enthusiasm for spewing their hatred, but that’s as likely as Hamas putting down their weapons and living in peace, side by side, with Israel. No, it’s probably just that I got there late in the day. Regardless of the reasons, you can be sure the pro-Hamas agitators will be there each and every week, maybe even after the war in Gaza has ended.
Political commentators more learned than myself have stated that if Hamas and all the other anti-Israel terrorist organizations put down their weapons, there would be peace in the region. If Israel put down their weapons, there would be no more Israel; no more Jews in the region.
Canadians, of all political and religious persuasions, must continue to stand strong against such hatred.
Also read: My article detailing my first time at the Bathurst & Sheppard protests, the one where I thought I was going to get arrested.
Sources: Nova music festival massacre – Wikipedia, Neturei Karta – Wikipedia.
