WARMINGTON: Walk With Israel could be interrupted Sunday by pro-Hamas demonstrators

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Toronto Police are aware of a potential showdown Sunday between 50,000 people participating in the Walk With Israel and a group of anonymously organized demonstrators.

As shown when police didn’t clear Pro-Palestinian protesters at Yonge and Bloor Sts. to make way for an ambulance with an eight-year-old child on the way to Sick Kids Hospital, Hamas supporters often control Canada’s streets and plan to crash the Walk With Israel event.

Members of the anti-Israel movement,2 who feel they are above the law, know they can do what they choose with little or no repercussions.

As The Toronto Sun’s Brian Lilley reported Wednesday, police issued an Event Guide document which said last week’s “Nakba Day, also known as the Palestinian catastrophe, commemorates the ethnic cleansing of Palestine starting on May 15th, 1948,” marking “the destruction of Palestinian land and mass displacement of the Palestinian population.” The contents were stated as fact — as if Hamas wrote it themselves.

Throw in the delivering coffee incident on an occupied bridge and the podcast of two Muslim officers saying conversions to Islam went up after the Oct. 7, 2023 slaughter of 1,200 Jews and the kidnapping of 150 more, there’s a growing mistrust between the Jewish community and TPS. The challenge Toronto Police will have Sunday is separating peaceful Walk With Israel participants from from the demonstrators in what’s being called the Walk Against Israel.

But there’s a wildcard.

Not only are anti-Israel protesters planning to attend the United Jewish Appeal’s walk, but they posted an internet meme suggesting those behind last year’s pogrom attack after a soccer match in Holland will be participating.

“Friends from Amsterdam are joining us,” said a meme posted on Protest Canada on Instagram. “Will you be there?”

The suggestion that antisemitic forces behind the post-soccer Amsterdam attack could be at this walk, has both the Jewish community and Toronto Police on alert. Last November, a Europa League football game featuring Israeli Maccabi Tel Aviv F.C. and the Netherlands AFC Ajax, turned into two days of violence over the war in Gaza which saw people sent to hospitals and others sent to jail.

But this walk is meant to be a peaceful event.

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“Safety is our top priority and together with the Jewish Security Network and Toronto Police, we are making every effort to ensure this year’s Walk With Israel is safe for everybody who is in attendance. Law enforcement will be present in significant numbers and are well aware of planned anti-Israel protests targeting the Walk,” said Sara Lefton, chief development officer, UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.

She added Toronto Police “shared they will be working to create a buffer between protesters and those participating in the Walk so as to ensure public safety.”

The walk starts at Temple Sinai on Wilson Ave. and “travels north on Bathurst St. and ends at UJA’s Sherman Campus for the Renee and Irwin Nadal Walk Festival where everyone will gather for food, activities, and international entertainment, including Israeli superstar Tamir Grinberg.”

But anti-Israel agitators on Instagram proclaimed “the most anticipated event of the year is back. On Sunday May 25th, Toronto Zionists plan to casually stroll through our streets waving the genocide flag of the terror entity known as Israel.”

Police indicate they are on it.

“While we know there are intentions to disrupt the event, we don’t provide detailed information on our operations or deployments,” said Toronto Police spokesperson Stephanie Sayer. “Toronto Police will have a strong presence at the Walk, supported by our partner police services, to help ensure a safe event for everyone attending or in the area.”

The mayor, premier and Prime Minister’s Office have yet to comment.

Even without a new Hamas video calling for more resistance, leaders should stop treating those dressing up to look like Jihadis, as legitimate players when what they are doing is supporting a banned terror group. There is no legal foundation for them to take over streets, schools or intersections.

Hamas is the enemy. Israel is Canada’s ally.

Sayer, however, made it clear Toronto Police “will take decisive action against any individual or group who seeks to incite violence or target others based on race, religion, or any other factor. We will not tolerate acts of hate.”

In the past, the corner of Sheppard Ave. and Bathurst St. has been a hotbed of hostility as Hamas supporters and their leaders have attended the weekly Sunday vigils put on by Toronto’s Jewish community for the remaining hostages in Gaza. Hopefully no one gets hurt this Sunday.

“The Walk with Israel has a decades long history of being a peaceful and family-oriented event,” said Richard Robertson, director of research and advocacy for B’nai Brith Canada. “The Walk Against Israel counter protest is a shameful attempt to harass and intimidate these families. By invoking reference to the horrific pogrom witnessed last year in Amsterdam, the organizers of the Walk Against Israel have demonstrated their nefarious intentions. They care not for Canadian morals and values. They wish solely to incite hate and sow division.”

The leaders could start by making sure nobody connected with what happened at that soccer game in Amsterdam is permitted into Canada.

Stay tuned.