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Jewish groups decry signs 'reminiscent of Nazi incitement' at Toronto demonstration
Toronto Police Service say they are aware and investigating “antisemitic signs” displayed during a protest in Toronto that sparked outcry from prominent Jewish organizations.
Photos posted to the social media platform X by a prominent account known as Leviathan (@l3v1at4an) , and later shared by B’nai Brith Canada, The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto and Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, show anti-Israel demonstrators bearing signs that dehumanize Jews and promote hate-inciting antisemitic rhetoric during an event at Bathurst and Sheppard in North York on Sunday afternoon.
The placards featured a caricature of an emaciated Orthodox Jewish man exiting a cave, asking whether “Iran has stopped” yet, a drawing of a farcical Jewish man wearing a kippah crying “Help us, Daddy!” into a walkie-talkie covered in an American flag as three missiles rain down in the background, and one of rats crawling in and out of a hole in the ground shaped like the Star of David.
“At protests at Bathurst & Sheppard, extremists openly made threats of violence, glorified terrorism, and depicted Jews as sub-human — yet no arrests have been announced. After multiple attacks on our community, many are asking why the law is not being enforced,” CIJA said in an X post.
“We’re calling on TPS 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.”
Earlier this afternoon, CIJA along with @bnaibrithcanada and @UJAFederation sent a joint letter demanding that the Toronto Police Service take immediate, decisive action to protect our communities and enforce the law against hate and incitement. Toronto's safety depends on it.…
— CIJA (@CIJAinfo) March 16, 2026
The organizations also co-signed an open letter to Toronto Police Service Chief Myron Dimkew , in which they said the imagery was “reminiscent of Nazi incitement,” and launched a website where visitors can register their support of a campaign to “Demand Action From Toronto Police.”
The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center said it has already filed a formal complaint regarding the offensive signage and president and CEO Michael Levitt echoed the call for swift intervention.
“Week after week, for far too long, hateful protesters have been allowed to publicly spew antisemitic vitriol on this street corner,” he wrote in a statement.
“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.”
TPS in a statement posted online said it was ” aware of antisemitic signs displayed at a demonstration this weekend at Bathurst and Sheppard.” The statement continued: “Hate Crime Unit investigators are consulting with the Ministry of the Attorney General regarding promotion of hatred offences under the Criminal Code.”
In their letter, the organizations acknowledge the dedication of considerable TPS resources to improve the security for the Jewish community, but recent events in the city — shootings at three synagogues, more at Jewish-owned businesses and one at the U.S. Consulate — indicate the need for a tactical “shift in how law enforcement addresses those who are inciting violence in the streets of our city.”
They pointed to the U.K., where law enforcement agencies turned their focus from managing protests to the “proactive enforcement of incitement laws” following last October’s fatal terrorist attack on a Manchester synagogue.
CIJA, B’Nai and UJA said the response from TPS has some community members concluding police are “prioritizing de-escalation” and “protecting criminals” rather than enforcing the law and “safeguarding citizens.”
“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 enforcement under Canada’s hate propaganda laws, what does,” they ask in the letter.
Levitt said, by using “grotesque caricatures that demonize and dehumanize Jews, it fuels hostility, emboldens extremists and contributes to an increasingly unsafe environment for Jewish communities.”
CIJA and its partners wonder, too, why police are not acting on their training to identify and respond to “antisemitism and hate-motivated incidents” and pointed to a Saturday decision by Ontario Superior Court Justice Robert Centa, who said, “the security of the public ultimately depends upon the enforcement of the criminal laws already in place when violations occur.”
“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,” wrote CIJA vice president Michelle Stock, B’nai director of research and advocacy Richard Robertson, and UJA’s chief development officer Sara Lefton.
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