It’s a fight over a sidewalk – and it could end up in a showdown this weekend.
Recommended Videos
Pro-Hamas and pro-Israel sides in the ongoing Israel/Gaza war have vowed to bring bigger numbers of demonstrators to the corner of Bathurst St. and Sheppard Ave. W. on Sunday.
While no one has threatened altercations or violence, some fear it has potential to turn into a showdown with tempers flaring like Toronto has not seen since the Christie Pits riots of 1933. Not since then has Toronto experienced the kind of antisemitism on display in 2024.
But there is concern this could result in a possible escalation like the racial and religious mayhem that broke out after a baseball game in Depression-era Toronto when one gang revealed a blanket with a large Swastika and Jewish players and fans took offence. The brawl involving 10,000 people lasted six hours and saw many black eyes.
Hopefully history does not repeat itself, but the current tensions involve similar elements. There have been Swastikas displayed at that corner and antisemitic signs.
With the stage set for possible trouble, police are taking no chances.
On one side you have pro-Hamas supporters encouraging people “to bring their friends” show the “fringe group of Zionists” their resolve. On the other side you have a group of Jewish Torontonians who have gathered at the corner of Bathurst and Sheppard every Sunday since the Oct. 7th Black Sabbath in Israel that saw Hamas militants come across the Israel/Gaza border in a sneak attack to slaughter 1,200 innocents.
In the middle you have the Toronto Police who don’t want this to turn into a Sunday Bloody Sunday event.
“Attention, demonstration at Bathurst and Sheppard,” Toronto Police said in a social media post Friday in bold letters.
“While we uphold the charter rights of all citizens, those rights are not without limits and must be balanced with the safety of everyone in the area.” the police statement said. “Our officers are trained to de-escalate volatile situations. If actions threaten public safety or risk dangerous confrontations, they will take steps to restore order – this applies to all sides.”
The notice also said, “Breach of the peace arrests are a tool to maintain order and carry no criminal charges.”
For the past month there, things have been problematic with the presence of pro-Hamas supporters – many wearing masks and taunting the Jewish vigil across the street, which is there every week reminding people that more than 100 hostages are still missing in Gaza.
But with the arrest of Rebel News publisher Ezra Levant last week, things are heating up. All sides are publicly recruiting to get people to show up Sunday.
A pro-Palestine Instagram account says, “Sunday, Dec. 1st 2024 let’s help put an end to the celebration of the Palestinian Holocaust” and “join the Pro-Palestinian community at Bathurst and Sheppard in exposing and opposing those who glorify genocide. Every Sunday, a fringe group of Zionists display terrorist flags to celebrate the Palestinian Holocaust. They believe this neighbourhood is exclusively ‘theirs.’ Come out, bring your friends, and let’s show them what we really mean when we say, ‘No Justice, No peace.’”
Within the meme is placed the picture of a living room chair with mock blood to simulate the chair in which former Hamas leader and architect of the Oct. 7 massacre Yahya Sinwar was killed in defiance while battling to his last breath as an Israeli missile took him out.
While called “just a chair” by police last week, for the Jewish community it’s seen as inciting terrorism, hate, antisemitism and violence.
“This hate rally targeting Jews every Sunday on the east side of Bathurst St. in a Jewish neighbourhood is illegal and disgraceful,” City Councillor James Pasternak said. “It violates various criminal code measures regarding harassment, incitement, threatening and intimidation. This is not charter protected. It violates various Toronto bylaws.”
Police say they’ve made 186 arrests and laid 506 charges “related to hate crimes” since Oct. 7, 2023, and they “remain committed to investigating all-hated motivated incidents.”
What they have tried to do at Bathurst and Sheppard is give the one corner over to the counter-protesters and in their words “try to keep the peace.” It was working until the arrest of Levant, who actually didn’t breach the no-go zone where pro-Palestinian protesters were but was brought in by police.
Video shows Staff-Sgt. Tom Flanders taking Levant into the location of the controversial chair to cover it, but all hell broke loose as protesters with Palestinians flags got into Levant’s face and police made a decision to remove Levant who argued he can stand on any sidewalk he wants to.
On the instruction of the Duty Inspector, Staff-Sgt. Jeff Macduff, Levant was handcuffed and taken in a squad car to a jail cell before being released two hours later.
Now, Levant, who teased police should put out a list of which sidewalks Jews can walk on, said he’s coming back Sunday.
“I’m certain they’re going to arrest me again this Sunday, because I intend to go to the exact same sidewalk, the pro-Hamas bullies invade the same Jewish neighbourhood every week,” he wrote in an email to supporters. “But if I’m there with 50 law-abiding Canadian citizens, all of us standing peacefully on the sidewalk, waving Canadian flags, the police might actually do their job.”
Levant asked, “as a fellow Canadian citizen,” will “you help me take back our streets from these pro-Hamas thugs?”
Hopefully it doesn’t escalate from a war of words into more and all sides calm down. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators should stick to City Hall or Queen’s Park and leave the Jewish hostage vigil alone and allow residents of the neighbourhood to use the sidewalks freely.
The police, who are only human and are caught in a difficult situation, can dial this down by enforcing the laws evenly, taking hate symbols seriously and not joking around with people promoting antisemitism.
While Levant assures a “peaceful and lawful” event with coffee, donuts and perhaps even a group singing of O Canada, police ended their X notice by saying, “Please follow police direction to ensure this weekend’s event remains safe and lawful for everyone.”
In response, Levant posted, “Toronto Police are threatening peaceful Canadians who dare to attend our Take Back the Streets peaceful rally” and “saying Hamas thugs have the Charter right to scream antisemitism at Jews every week but Canadians are banned from the sidewalk. See you Sunday at 9.”
Hopefully it remains peaceful.