The Toronto Police Service arrested five people on Nov. 5 for forcible entry at a Jewish event at Toronto Metropolitan University.
Videos that circulated on social media showed attendees at a Students Supporting Israel event, which featured Israeli soldiers, barricading a door with furniture, as anti-Israel protesters banged on the glass.
The school’s Students for Justice in Palestine chapter, which was behind the protests, stated in a flier for an “emergency rally” that “Zionist war criminals have once again been welcomed into this city.”
According to Toronto police, the protesters “caused those in attendance to fear for their safety,” and “one individual sustained injuries from broken glass during the forced entry.”
“During the arrest process, some of the accused obstructed officers, and one individual assaulted an officer while attempting to prevent an arrest,” police stated.
Police identified those arrested as Nicole Baiton, 25; Kiana Alexis, 22; Fatimah Mugni, 23; Chelsea Wu, 29; and Manal Kamran, 21. All are scheduled to appear in court in early January.
“The student intifada will continue,” the SJP chapter wrote after the arrests.
Kevin Vuong, a former Canadian parliamentarian who is of Chinese descent, stated that he was “embarrassed” to learn that one of the five arrested shared his heritage.
“She likely doesn’t know solidarity between Canada’s Jewish and Chinese communities goes back to the ‘40s,” he stated. “Back when it was easy to hate people like us, it was a Jew who helped repeal the Chinese exclusion act.”
B’nai Brith Canada called the incident “a targeted act of hate against Jewish students and their guests” and said the school should “suspend and review any student groups implicated in the violence.”
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs condemned the incident as “another violent protest in Toronto” and urged government leaders to “do everything in their power to confront this growing danger.”
Also this week, the American Jewish Committee said Toronto’s Kehillat Shaarei Torah Synagogue had been vandalized for the 10th time since Oct. 7.
“Over the past two years, the congregation has endured repeated antisemitic attacks: broken windows, graffiti, a dead raccoon left on its lawn and even synagogue signs set on fire with a blowtorch,” the AJC said.
“No community should have to live with this kind of hate. The Canadian government must take decisive action to stop this alarming rise in antisemitic violence,” it added.
