Rowdy Pro-Palestine Protests Blocking Events Escalate in Toronto

Protesters wave flags and sing as police line the entrance to the Art Gallery of Ontario, where a cancelled event for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni was to take place, in Toronto on March 2, 2024. The Canadian Press/Cole Burston

Pro-Palestine demonstrators in Toronto appear to be intensifying their efforts to disrupt government officials’ events, escalating to the extent that some protesters are getting physical with attendees or passersby.

A recent event that was to be attended by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his fellow G7 leader, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, was cancelled because of one such protest.

Meanwhile, calls for action to curb the protests, including for increased police intervention, are mounting.

Another event was disrupted March 5 when protesters blocked the entrance to a Toronto restaurant hosting a Liberal Party dinner event.

Videos shared on social media by Toronto lawyer and commentator Caryma Sa'd showed noisy protesters surrounding the entrance, yelling and shouting slogans. At one stage, a man who tries to make it through the crowd to enter the restaurant is pushed and jostled by several protesters.

As he walks away, appearing to give up on trying to get to the restaurant, someone asked him if he was assaulted and he answered “yes.”

The videos showed protesters chanting slogans like “The people united will never be defeated” and “shame.” Dozens of law enforcement officers on the scene formed a line between the protesters and the restaurant. The police don’t appear to confront the protesters for preventing people from entering the restaurant.

“The most violent protester of the evening laid hands on police, ticket-holders for the York Centre Federal Liberal Association, and random passersby,” Ms. Sa'd wrote in one of her posts.

The protest reportedly led to Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Mental Health Minister Ya'ara Saks cancelling their attendance at the event.

The protest followed a similar incident that disrupted the event to be attended by Mr. Trudeau and Ms. Meloni at the Art Gallery of Ontario on March 2. The event was cancelled as pro-Palestinian protesters blocked attendees from accessing the building.

Commenting on the incident, Toronto city councillor James Pasternak said on X: “Why is the angry mob allowed to gather but those who want to go to a peaceful event are not? These mob events are not Charter protected.”

In a statement posted on Instagram, Ms. Saks said such protests are “unacceptable.”

“There are appropriate places for freedom of expression and the right to protest. It comes with the responsibility to respect our community and our local businesses,” she wrote. “Aggression and intimidation such as we witnessed last night and on a Saturday are unacceptable.”

Targeting Jewish Communities

The targeting of federal officials’ events is part of ongoing protests aimed at Jewish communities across Canada. The protests have surged following Israel’s counterstrike against Hamas in response to the terrorist group’s surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, which resulted in an estimated 1,200 casualties, including at least seven Canadians.

In multiple incidents, protesters have targeted synagogues, schools, and other buildings in Jewish communities.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs posted on X March 5 about an “aggressive and physically intimidating mob” surrounding the Jewish community’s central building in Cote-des-Neiges, Montreal.

“The demonstrators are attempting to block access to the building and are harassing those trying to enter,” the post said. “The protests we’ve decried for weeks have escalated into a hate mob targeting Jewish institutions.”

Liberal MP Anthony Housefather retweeted the post and called for action.

“This is my riding. This is the Jewish Community central building where the Holocaust Museum is located. I have and continue to call on all governments to make clear…where demonstrations cross a line and offering full support to police to act,” he wrote.

Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman also called for action, describing the protests as “full blown antisemitism designed to intimidate Canadians.”

B'nai Brith Canada, an independent Jewish human rights organization, issued a March 3 statement urging police to prevent protests targeting Jewish institutions. The call came after the group described a “disorderly crowd of radicals” causing disturbances at a community congregation in Thornhill, Ont.

“It is not far-fetched to suggest that these protests constitute a legitimate threat to public safety,” said Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s director of research and advocacy. “Canadian police forces must take proactive measures to deter radicals from organizing protest that are not only shameful, anti-Semitic acts, but that pose a legitimate threat to the wellbeing of the public.”

In another March 4 incident, two distinct groups of protesters, one supporting Israel and the other Palestine, faced off outside the Spanish and Portuguese Synagogue of Montreal. The venue was hosting an Israel real estate fair at the time.

The protest led a Quebec court to issue an injunction temporarily banning protests near several Jewish institutions in Montreal’s Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough. The 10-day injunction bans protests within 50 metres of the synagogue and several other buildings, CBC reported.

Jeremy Levi, Mayor of Hampstead, Que., condemned the protest in Montreal.

“To the Pro-Hamas demonstrators who gathered outside a Montreal Jewish community building, spreading anti-Israel and anti-Jewish sentiments: your disgrace is inappropriate and misplaced,” Mr. Levi wrote in a March 4 social media post.

“We are not representatives of the Israeli war cabinet. Your protest serves no purpose and is a futile waste of time and energy.”