HATE ON THE SIDEWALK: Antisemitic Posters Appear in Toronto

Antisemitic poster boards titled “Jewish-Zionists of Toronto” and ominously depicting photos of Jewish people were displayed on a Toronto sidewalk over the weekend, bringing the wave of antisemitic incidents to crazier and scarier heights.

David Perks is alleged to be behind the signs and is said to be a perpetual and obsessive Jew hater. This type of signage reflects the larger trend of rising antisemitism in the city and has been documented and condemned by Jewish groups such as Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, CIJA and B’nai Brith Canada.

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Canada has hate speech laws, and these signs may well violate those laws. Some people involved in such incidents have indeed been charged with public incitement of hatred and willful promotion of hatred.

For example, Toronto police arrested six people in connection with a March 15 protest in which participants carried banners that showed Jews as monsters with long noses emerging from the ground and in other posters as rats. The pro-Hamas demonstration took place near Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue.

Toronto Police Chief Myron Denkiw said that all six were charged with incitement of hatred and willful promotion of hatred.

“We will continue to be relentless in following the evidence to hold those who commit criminal acts of hate accountable. No matter how long it takes, we will root it out,” he said at a press conference at the time. “Today is an example of what we mean when we say that arrests and charges can come at any time after an incident. Hate has real impact. Antisemitic behavior like this creates fear, anxiety and division in our communities.”

“We are committed to working with all our partners to combat hate, and we will continue to have a visible presence at protests and around places of worship and community centers for as long as it takes,” the police chief added.