Five more arrested over antisemitic signs displayed during March protest: Toronto police

Toronto police have announced five additional arrests in relation to antisemitic signage displayed at a demonstration that took place on March 15 in the Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue West area, the heart of the city’s Jewish community.

In a news conference on Monday, Toronto Chief of Police Myron Demkiw said: “On April 2 we announced the arrest of one individual and a charge of public incitement of hatred at the time. We also announced that a number of search warrants had been carried out at multiple locations, and that phones and laptops had been seized.

“This investigation continued over the past weeks, and yesterday, early in the morning, police carried out search warrants and arrested five additional suspects in relation to the March 15 incident.

“These five individuals have been charged with public incitement of hatred and willful promotion of hatred.

“The individual arrested two months ago was also charged with willful promotion of hatred.”

Protests have occurred regularly in the Bathurst and Sheppard area since shortly after the October 7 attacks on Israel by Hamas in 2023.

Chief Demkiw said in the news conference that since October 7, 2023, Toronto police has laid 30 hate propaganda charges, including 11 willful promotion of hatred charges.

In the 10 plus year period before October 7, meaning 2010 and 2023, Toronto police had only laid six hate propaganda charges, including four charges of willful promotion of hatred, he said.

“We will continue to be relentless in following the evidence to hold those who commit criminal acts of hate accountable, no matter how long it takes,” he added.

Photos of the March 15 protest shared on 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, showed anti-Israel demonstrators carrying signs that dehumanize Jews and promote hate-inciting antisemitic rhetoric during the protest

The placards featured a caricature of an emaciated Orthodox Jewish man exiting a cave, asking whether “Iran has stopped” yet, a drawing of a caricatured 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.

Monday’s news conference comes after B’nai Brith Canada, The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto co-signed an open letter to Chief Dimkew following the protest, in which they called on TPS to “to investigate and lay charges, declare assemblies unlawful when there are activities the promote and incite hate, and make the necessary and critical changes to protect our city.”

The protest came just days after three Toronto synagogues were hit by gunfire in a week .

In the open letter, the organizations addressed the attacks, writing “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.”

In Monday’s news conference, Toronto Chief of Police Myron Demkiw said: “Today is an example of what we mean when we say that arrests and charges can come at any time after an incident. Hate has real impacts. Anti-Semitic behaviour like this creates fear, anxiety, and division in our communities.

“Through the tireless work of our Counter Terrorism Security Unit, we investigate thoroughly, gather evidence carefully, and pursue charges where there are reasonable grounds and legal authority to do so.”

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