Toronto City Consultation on Combating Antisemitism
The report of a proposed Bubble Zone bylaw that is pending review and approval by City Council is being considered. This bylaw is urgently needed to protect our places of worship, faith-based schools, and other vulnerable institutions.
On February 26, 2025, the City Manager stated that the report on recommended actions to address community safety and respond to demonstrations would require additional public consultations and time to complete. Following an administrative inquiry, we have been informed that it will be presented to City Council in May 2025.
From March 17, 2025 to May 1, 2025, the City of Toronto is undertaking a multi-pronged approach for public consultation to maximize opportunities for public input and enable broad participation and inclusive representation. The feedback received through the public consultation will inform the development of the proposed bylaw and staff report.
This multi-pronged public consultation approach will include the following:
Online Survey: An online survey was launched today and is open for public input now until May 1st. The survey can be accessed here.
Written Comments: Written comments to engagement@toronto.ca may now be submitted to the City until May 1.
Small Towns Also Hit with Antisemitic Programs and Protests
The town of Belleville, north east of Toronto has been seeing its share of Jew hating antisemitism, all disguised in anti-Israel rhetoric and lies. From a City Councillor who attended an interfaith event that intentionally ignored the Jewish community, at which he spoke out against Israel, to a planned “pro-Palestinian” event featuring Dr. Yipeng Ge, a disgraced physician, who would address health care in Gaza and likely blame Israel for its deterioration, disregarding entirely the break of a ceasefire by Hamas on October 7th when Hamas massacred about 1200 innocent people.
On learning of the planned event, sponsored by antizionist organizations such as IJV and Justice for Peace. the Jewish community reached out to CAEF for information. We were able to provide a significant amount of background on the speaker and the community was successful in having the public library cancel the event. Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, the event was then moved to a private venue.
Read the story of the library’s decision in the Belleville Intelligencer.
Good News—the private venue which was subsequently booked for the event featuring Dr. Yipeng Ge, also cancelled the event. CAEF had written to the property manager pointed out the history of social media posts by Dr. Ge that showed his support for the Oct 7th massacre and the likelihood is presence and talk would potentially be harmful to the Jewish community and increase divisiveness not unity in the community.
Support for Campaign to Ban the Hakenkreuz, Support the Swastika
B’nai Brith Canada introduced a campaign to ban Nazi symbols and has differentiated significantly the Hakenkreuz from the religious symbol that is the swastika. The latter was expropriated and modified by the Nazis. CAEF respects the religious symbol of the Hindus, Jains and Buddhists.
We urge others to support both also support both messages.
New ISGAP Report Exposes Anti-Israel Bias Fueled by Secretive Qatari Influence in U.S. K-12 Classrooms
ISGAP calls for a federal investigation, curriculum suspension, and stricter foreign funding disclosure in K-12 education, after briefing key officials, including the U.S. Department of Education, the Department of Justice, and congressional leaders.
Complaint to CIBC Has Results
CIBC is investigating complaints laid against Mohamad Kallas, a Senior Talent Acquisition Partner based in Vancouver, who posted selfies showing how he changes product tags for goods from Israel and replaces them with the word “Palestine” (that non-existent country). He has also posted support for the designated terrorist group Hamas. See posts disclosed on X here.
See excerpt from a letter sent by Sarah Brant, a Senior Executive in Client Services of CIBC to an individual who brought the complaint about Kallas:
“Inclusion is the foundation of our bank’s culture and there is no place for either antisemitic or Islamophobic comments. Our bank maintains a clear social media policy and we do not condone the actions highlighted in the individual’s personal post. We have investigated and taken appropriate action.
Your feedback is taken seriously by CIBC and we hope this clarifies our position.”
Gazan Schools Resume Teaching Hatred and Violence Towards Jews
IMPACT-se report released today shows the new, abridged curriculum for Gaza produced by the Palestinian Authority continues to teach antisemitism and violence.
The curriculum shows no progress to reform, despite commitments made to the US and EU, driven by IMPACT-se.
Antisemitism: Textbook material contains antisemitic stereotypes. Israelis are depicted as routinely and inherently cruel.
Glorification of Violence: Violent jihad, martyrdom and terrorism are glorified.
Schools celebrate October 7: Gaza schools which have reopened use classrooms to honor terrorists and celebrate the October 7 attacks on Israel.
Recommended Reading
Read article by in Jerusalem Post, about professors who diminish the Holocaust as exceptional and urge focus on Islamophobia.
Read Melanie Philips in JNS, on the Islamic holy war on the West.
Read Facts and Logic About the Middle East (FLAME) about the Arab plan for Gaza which ignores Palestinian Arab actions to destroy Israel.
Read article by Philissa Cramer in Jta.org about new US taskforce dedicated to prosecuting Oct. 7 terrorists.
Read about the report in Impact-se about the Uzbekistan textbooks that show deep interest in Jews, Judaism and Israel. Full report here.
Read article by Rabbi Yehoshua Pfeffer in Tzarich Iyun, about the paradigm shift among the Haredim as Israel sees more inclusion of Haredi in society, including in the new special Haredi IDF unit.
Read about latest antisemitic incident in Montreal as reported by Jason Magder in The Gazette, March 24th.
Al Quds Day Rally held in Toronto, March 23 brings out 2000 Israel Haters
Read several articles about this annual hate fest, that should have been cancelled, based on past outrages of Jew hatred, and promises by Premier Ford, and calls from Jewish organizations across the country.
Read article by Ellin Bessner who viewed the event for CJN.
Read Michael Starr in the Jerusalem Post.
Read article by Raheel Raza and Mohammad Rizwan in the Toronto Sun, on the Trojan Horse that is Al Quds Day.
Are Jews and Arabs Brothers, Cousins, or Any Relationship?
Read Zach Ross’s article in which he presents facts that belie any claim or suggestion that these two peoples have any historic, religious, cultural or genetic relationship.
Here is an excerpt from Substack article by Zach Ross: “It is an indisputable fact that Judaism predates both Islam (and Christianity) by thousands of years.
The Jewish People and their scriptures existed long before Muhammad, long before the rise of Islam, and long before Arab tribes attempted to insert themselves into the biblical narrative.
By the time Muhammad began preaching in the 7th century CE, Jewish communities had already existed in the Middle East for more than 2,000 years, with deeply established religious texts, legal traditions, and a national identity centered around Israel. These Jewish communities were literate, scholarly, wealthy, and had extensive oral and written traditions.”
“The truth is this: Islam’s relationship to Judaism is not that of a sibling faith, but of an empire that co-opted Jewish tradition for its own expansion. Muhammad encountered Jewish tribes, stole from their scriptures, raped and slaughtered them and inserted himself into their history not because it was true, but because it was useful in helping him gain power and influence.
Many Muslim supremacists, Palestinian Arabs, and their allies know this to be true, which is why they regularly chant “Khaybar Khaybar ya Yahud, jaish Muhammad soufa ya’oud,” which translates to “Khaybar Khaybar, Oh Jews, the army of Muhammad will return” — referencing Muhammad’s massacre of the Jewish community in Khaybar in 628 CE. The Jewish People do not need to accept the Arabization or Islamization of their own sacred history for the sake of a chance at ‘peace.’”
Organization of Islamic Countries Extensive Funding of US Universities
Michael Bass, a Canadian forensic accountant has provided the National Contagion Research Institute at Rutgers University and the US government with a detailed 16 page report on the extent of foreign funding of US universities from a specific list of countries. Such funding has been reported to be coincident, if not causal, with reported increases in antisemitism on these receiving campuses. Canadians should be pressing for legislation requiring universities and colleges to likewise be mandated to report all foreign funds. The report has illustrations on the surge in foreign funding over recent years; What is the situation in Canada?
UK Parliament’s Landmark Report on October 7th Hamas Atrocities
Reported by the World Jewish Congress on March 20th, the cross-party commission of British Parliamentarians report, known as The Roberts Report, is a comprehensive investigation of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 terror attack and massacre in Israel.
This 318 page report draws on evidence and meticulously documents the horrors inflicted on Jews in Israel, the worst since the Holocaust. It leaves no doubt about the “premeditated and systematic nature of the attack.”
Here are a few key findings reported by WJC:
Mass Murder & Targeting of Civilians: Hamas terrorists killed 1,182 people, injured over 4,000, and kidnapped 251 hostages, including 18 British nationals—the deadliest attack on UK citizens abroad since 9/11. The report affirms that 73% of those murdered were civilians, from a 14-hour-old infant to a 92-year-old Holocaust survivor.
Planned Atrocities: Hamas spent years preparing for the attack, building mock Israeli communities for training exercises. Their fighters entered Israel carrying detailed lists of civilians to be killed or abducted. The assault was not spontaneous warfare—it was a deliberate massacre designed to maximize terror.
Unprecedented Brutality: The report documents atrocities in chilling detail—families were executed in their homes, burned alive in safe rooms, or blown up with grenades. At Kibbutz Be’eri, 99 civilians were slaughtered; in Kfar Aza, 62 were murdered, including babies in their parents’ arms. At the Nova music festival, Hamas massacred over 370 young people, ambushing fleeing attendees with rifles, grenades, and RPGs.
Sexual Violence & Mutilation: The report confirms widespread sexual violence, with victims raped, gang-raped, and mutilated before being murdered. Some corpses were desecrated—including instances of beheadings. Such sadistic brutality, the authors note, has few historical parallels.
Hostages & Digital Terrorism: Hamas used social media as a weapon, filming their killings on body cameras and smartphones, live-streaming the massacres on Facebook, TikTok, and Telegram. They seized victims’ phones to send images of the atrocities directly to the victims’ loved ones, amplifying the psychological terror.
Fighting Denial & Misinformation: The report addresses the rapid spread of falsehoods following October 7. Within hours of the attack, conspiracy theories sought to deny the massacres had taken place. Lord Roberts draws a direct parallel between October 7 denial and Holocaust denial, noting that misinformation today spreads faster than ever before. The report serves as a historical record of indisputable facts, based on eyewitness testimony, forensic evidence, and footage filmed by Hamas themselves.
Advocacy and Action
Michael Teper, VP of CAEF sent this letter to the chair of the Toronto Police Services Board, Shelly Carroll, and Councillor Lily Cheng, asking for an agenda item to be included at the TPS Board meeting of April 10th, addressing Jewish community concerns about police actions, inactions, and inappropriate actions recently and over past months.
CAEF will be requesting the Attorney General charge this police liaison officer with a hate crime, noting his comparing Israel with Nazi Germany. This is particularly disturbing given his position as liaison to the Muslim community and due to recent observation about a Toronto Police Service training video is offensive to the Jewish community, and at various ugly anti-Israel demonstrations, few of the haters whose signage, behaviour or rhetoric reeks of antisemitism. Additionally, CAEF’s Vice President, Michael Teper, has sent several messages to the TPS Board, demanding they address the deteriorating relationship between the police and the Jewish community.
Kvell at the Well: Celebrating the Joys of Being Jewish
This program is presented by Kolot Mayim ReformTemple in Victoria, BC which invites you to join infostering a stronger, prouder Jewish community!
Register here: A recording will be provided to all registrants
Renowned Sofer STa"M Mordechai Pinchas (Marc Michaels) to Present "Torah Tales: Adventures in Scribal Art". He will deliver an engaging talk on April 6, 2025 on Zoom.
As a highly respected scribe serving communities in the UK and internationally since 1996, Mordechai will share captivating and often humorous stories from his scribal adventures, offering the work of a modern Jewish Sofer STa"M. His presentation will cover the materials and methods used in creating sacred Jewish texts, the complex halakhic requirements for Sifrey Torah, tefillin, mezuzot, megillot, and gittin. Drawing from his extensive knowledge and ongoing academic research, Mordechai will offer a rare opportunity to understand the meticulous work and deep traditions behind creating and maintaining Jewish sacred texts.
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