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Despite peace breaking out in Middle East, there was more antisemitism on display at Cedarvale park
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There’s always somebody in Toronto who will try to ruin a historic and celebratory day.
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As peace was breaking out in the Middle East, sadly and embarrassingly, there was more hate on display in Toronto on Canadian Thanksgiving. More antisemitism, to be specific.
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While Jewish people in Toronto were waking up to the historic Donald Trump-led release of the remaining hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, and all of the euphoria and relief that went with it, there was a clue that Toronto’s anti-Israel crowd is not only unhappy about the prospect of peace, but they are doing their part to try to sow division in Canada.
The ugliness appeared in Cedarvale Ravine Park near Forest Hill, where benches, signs and rocks were vandalized with hateful anti-Jewish slogans scrawled in red.
“From the river to the sea,” was one of the messages, which calls for the end of Israel. “Glory to our martyrs,” was another, as was, “Death to the IDF.”
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There were many more ugly slurs left behind by gutless, anonymous antisemites who know they are above the law in a country that has a high tolerance for such hate and routinely lets it go.
Could that change thanks to the new peace plan endorsed by most Middle Eastern countries as well as Hamas?
There’s no need to protest anymore. There’s no need to vandalize Jewish neighbourhoods. All sides, after all, are trying to find an end to the conflicts of the past.
Just when Torontonians were hoping for that came this disgraceful hate crime.
“On the very day that 20 hostages were reunited with their loved ones in Israel, our community here was reminded once again that hate knows no borders,” Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs Ontario government relations director Josh Landau said. “We are deeply disturbed by the antisemitic graffiti discovered in a Toronto park — a space frequented by Jewish families, nestled in the heart of our community and surrounded by Jewish homes, synagogues and schools.”
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They know what it means. Jewish people know this is far from over.
“The release of the hostages and the peace negotiations must lead to the end of antisemitic protesting and graffiti,” said Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s director of research and advocacy. “This horrific incident of vandalism underscores the severity of hatred plaguing our community. However, these acts will not diminish the day of 20 living hostages returning to their families.”
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GRAFFITI ‘AIMS TO INSTILL FEAR’
He’s right. But it does show there’s lots of work to do.
“Hateful acts like this graffiti aims to instill fear — but they will only strengthen our resolve to stand proudly, visibly and united as a community,” said Landau. “While we celebrate their (the hostages) safe return, we cannot overlook the reality that Jewish Canadians continue to face threats and intimidation at home.”
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Toronto Police said they are investigating.
Mayor Olivia Chow, who as of Monday evening had not posted on X about the peace deal in contrast to Prime Minister Mark Carney and Premier Doug Ford, can make a lot of amends for her perceived lack of support for the Jewish community by calling out this vandalism as unacceptable, much like she did last week by rightfully calling out Islamophobia.
All forms of bigotry should be rejected by leaders.
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And the pro-Hamas crowd accustomed to being able to do what they want may soon notice it won’t be as easy a road as they are used to. With Hamas agreeing to give up hostages and participate in the peace process, there is a ceasefire underway and even those like Trump who are already declaring the war over.
Either way, there really is no need to protest now. And those doing it are going to find that unless they are on public squares, there will be less tolerance for blocking roads, intersections and hospital lanes.
“As a nation, we cannot allow the significance of peace in Israel and Gaza to be undermined by the continued proliferation of incitement and division on our own streets,” said Robertson. “Co-existence has increasingly become a foreign concept in Canada. Such a notion is incompatible with Canadian values and must be confronted.”
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Police have not yet commented, but there was a noticeable shift in their approach Sunday in the Thorncliffe area, where officers stopped 300 protesters from going on the Spanbridge Rd. overpass over the Don Valley Parkway. They blocked access to the overpass and made an arrest at the scene, too.
Police will have to be firm because there is no question that this war is in a different phase and it needs to be handled differently in the GTA. There needs to be a zero-tolerance approach. And when someone defaces a Jewish business or leaves anti-Jewish messaging on park benches, the courts are going to have to back up the police without offering easy bail.
The war is ending. Peace is what they should all be working on now.
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