AGAR: Threats against Jews finally results in a conviction 

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Finally, a person has been convicted and sentenced in the GTA for hatred against Jews.

It’s illegal to utter threats but it has seemed it was safe to do so on our streets since the infamous, brutal attack by Hamas in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Waisuddin Akbari threatened to blow up synagogues and kill Jews, for which he received a jail sentence and probation.

The finding by the judge, Justice Edward Prutschi, reads, “On March 4, 2024, Mr. Akbari engaged in a discussion with Cameron Ahmad, a salesperson at a local car dealership. During that conversation, Mr. Akbari expressed dehumanizing and conspiratorial opinions about the State of Israel, Israelis, and Jewish people more generally.”

Akbari was ready to die, he said, for his cause. He said, “I’m going to plant a bomb in every synagogue in Toronto and blow them up to kill as many Jews as possible.”

“I’ll make sure those attacks are filmed and posted online so the world can see what I’ve done,” Akbari said.

As mitigating circumstances, Prutschi took into consideration that Akbari has suffered significant personal consequences. He lost his business, a shawarma shop in York Region.

“He has been subject to bail conditions for nearly 1.5 years and has remained compliant with those terms. He has developed some insight into the far-reaching consequences of his words on the broader Jewish community, though he continues to deny making the specific threats he was found guilty of. His lengthy prepared comments at the conclusion of the sentencing hearing suggest that he has come to recognize the extraordinary harm he caused and is already on the path towards rehabilitation.”

The judge wrote, “Sentences imposed must reflect the reality that hate motivated offences are on the rise. Communities must not be forced to be revictimized over and over again by the actions of hate-filled offenders.”

The Crown sought a four-to-six-month jail sentence followed by three years’ probation along with ancillary orders including DNA registration and an extended weapons prohibition.

Akbari was sentenced by Prutschi to 60 days house arrest, with “the condition report as directed; participate in counselling for gambling addiction and antisemitism education as directed by his conditional sentence supervisor or probation officer and sign the releases necessary to permit monitoring of progress with that counselling; not be in possession of any weapons or incendiary devices; and not attend or be within 200 metres of any synagogue, place of Jewish worship, Jewish community centre, Jewish school or daycare, or any gathering organized by or for the Jewish community, except for the purposes of counselling as directed by your conditional sentence supervisor or probation officer.”

Akbari must submit a DNA sample and is prohibited from owning weapons for 10 years.

Akbari’s offence is a hate crime. It could easily be seen as one motivated by the hate we see paraded on our streets on a regular basis. Could he have seen that such hate seems to be carried out with no consequence?

As an immigrant, should Akbari have been deported? Should the sentence have been longer?

Hopefully, Prutschi guessed correctly that Akbari has seen the error of his ways, because as we’ve seen before, house arrest is only as good as the willingness of the criminal to follow the rules.

At least a precedent has been set that such threats are not acceptable.