Arson charges for anti-Israel activist who allegedly torched Israeli flag during T.O. hate march

Qabil Ibrahim, 26, faces arson charges

Published Apr 23, 2025 • 1 minute read

An anti-Israel activist sprays lighter fluid on a burning Israeli flag atop wooden scaffolding during a march in downtown Toronto on Friday, April 4 2025. Qabil Ibrahim, 26, of Toronto faces arson charges Courtesy X/Leviathan

Arson charges have been laid against a Toronto man accused of torching an Israeli flag during an anti-Israel demonstration earlier this month.

Qabil Ibrahim, 26, was arrested by Toronto cops on Monday in connection with a viral video depicting a keffiyeh-clad demonstrator who scaled scaffolding at the corner of Yonge St. and Bloor St. W. before setting the flag alight.

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Hamas loyalist lights an Israeli flag on fire on a scaffold in lawless Toronto under the supervision & protection of @TorontoPolice

It seems you can get away with anything in Toronto as long as it’s in the name of Palestine. pic.twitter.com/MBTucTbn1T
— Leviathan (@l3v1at4an) April 4, 2025

Video posted to social media shows the man squirting the burning flag with lighter fluid, dropping it on the wooden decking and squirting more fuel on the flag before fleeing.

Toronto Police say other demonstrators attempted to extinguish the blaze after Ibrahim allegedly fled.

“All Zionists are racists, all Zionists are degenerates,” an activist is heard shouting into a megaphone, clearly audible on the recording.

Ibrahim faces charges of arson, possession of incendiary material for arson, and common nuisance.

He’ll next appear in court June 4.

Monday’s arrest comes as Toronto’s Jewish community asks serious questions about Toronto Police and their role in enabling — and in some cases facilitating — the near-weekly hate marches conducted by city anti-Israel activists.

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Community members have repeatedly called out TPS for allowing anti-Israel marchers to shut down major thoroughfares in the downtown core to hold Islamic prayers, not to mention the infamous video last year of a uniformed TPS member delivering hot coffee to activists illegally occupying an overpass in an uptown Jewish neighbourhood.

Toronto Police would eventually issue an apology over a service-produced podcast featuring two uniformed Toronto police Muslim outreach officers dismissing opposition to these intimidation rallies as “Islamophobia,” and praising the Oct. 7, 2023 Israeli terror attacks for a surge in converts to Islam.

bpassifiume@postmedia.com
X: @bryanpassifiume