Open Letter: Toronto Al Quds Day

Open Letter

Hon. Yasir Naqvi
Attorney General of Ontario
McMurtry-Scott Building
720 Bay Street, 11th Floor
Toronto, ON M7A 2S9

CC: Kathleen Wynne (Premier ofOntario), John Tory (Mayor of Toronto), Jody Wilson-Raybould (Minister ofJustice and Attorney General of Canada), Jackie Gordon (The Sergeant at Arms ofthe Ontario Legislature), Chrystia Freeland (Minister of Foreign Affairs, MPfor Toronto Centre), Dave Levac (Speaker of the House of the OntarioLegislature), Mark Saunders (Chief of the Toronto Police Services), PaulBoniferro (Deputy Attorney General of Ontario), James Pasternak (Toronto CityCouncillor for Ward 10), Kristyn Wong-Tam (Toronto City Councillor for Ward 27)

Thursday May 17, 2018

Dear Mr. Naqvi,

I write this letter as weapproach the date for Toronto’s annual Al Quds Rally.

As you well know, Toronto’s AlQuds Rally is an annual gathering of some of Canada’s most radical antisemiticextremists, who march at the beck and call of the authoritarian rogue regime inIran, calling for the destruction of Israel’s widely recognized capital city,Jerusalem, and the removal and slaughter of its current inhabitants.

The Al Quds Rally, rather thanbeing a cultural, or community march (as is common in a multicultural societysuch as ours) is instead a rally which calls for a specific violent politicalaim – the removal of the Jewish people from Jerusalem and the State of Israel,and the implementation of strict theocratic control over the Holiest city ofboth the Jewish and Christian faiths. In the words of the founder of Al QudsDay on the intent of the rally, the late Supreme Leader of Iran AyatollahKhomeini stated: “we must all rise, destroy Israel and replace it with theheroic Palestinian nation.”

Last Spring I had encouragingdiscussions with many political leaders, including the Sergeant at Arms of theOntario Legislature, in hopes that last year’s rally would be the beginning ofthe end of the annual hatred spewed in downtown Toronto, and the end to antisemiticpropaganda being paraded directly outside of our hallowed provinciallegislature. This year, we urge you to take action to ensure that hatred andincitement are not allowed to take place through the Al Quds Rally, and urgeyour office, and the office of the Mayor, to uphold provisions in the CriminalCode and local bylaws which have been repeatedly broken by this annual displayof hatred, division and intolerance.

The rally on June 24thof last year was the most extreme of any Toronto Al Quds Rally the Friends ofSimon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) has witnessed. Our organization, which monitorseach year’s rally on behalf of the community we represent and on behalf ofbasic human decency and respect, noted numerous instances of hatred - many ofwhich we believe clearly violate sections 319.1 and 319.2 of the Criminal Code- including a speech given by notorious Holocaust denier Kevin Barrett whovehemently denied the right of Israel’s existence[i],and including a song played on repeat by rally organizers – named ‘Declare it aPopular Revolution’ – which includes the lyrics (about the Jewish community)“stab whoever you see, five, six, ten, twelve… Declare a Popular Revolution…Make us happy with bombing a bus… cut off (their heads), stab (them), run over (them),launch an attack on them.”[ii]

It was also reported that ‘NaziSalutes’ by Al Quds Rally attendees were directed at Jewishcounter-demonstrators,[iii]in addition to a speech delivered by radical Mississauga Imam Maulana SyedMohammad Zaki Baqri who declared that “the systemic elimination of Jews…Israelis, Zionists should know, that it is the (religious) law that whoeveroppresses, he has to be eliminated.”[iv]These acts of pure hatred toward an identifiable group can simply not bepermitted.

The above examples are only aportion of the disgraceful, dangerous, and hate-filled occurrences which wererecorded by FSWC, and only a small portion of the publicly recorded instancesof hatred at the annual Toronto Al Quds Rally readily available online for theworld to see.

The Jewish community feelsextremely vulnerable both here at home and abroad. The Canadian Jewishcommunity – continually the most targeted group for hate-motivated crime inCanada - remains on high alert over a spate of antisemitic attacks in our owncountry and province, as well as throughout America and much of Europe. Infact, per Statistics Canada, the Jewish community has been the most targetedfor hate-crimes since at least 2013 – with 2016 being the worst year on record.[v] Accordingto the same report, hate-crimes targeting the Jewish community accounted for48% of all hate-crimes motivated by religion, despite the Jewish communitycomprising less than 2% of the Canadian population.[vi]In recent reports from police services in Toronto[vii]and Hamilton[viii],the Jewish population remains the top target of hate motivated crimes, andincidents have increased year over year.

Additionally, Israel is currentlyunder siege by Iranian supported terrorist groups on all fronts: Hezbollah inthe north, which has been indiscriminately firing rockets at Israeli civiliansfrom their foothold in Southern Syria, and Hamas to the south, which has beentaking advantage of the charity of the Israeli people to launch a sustainedattack against Israel’s border communities. Waving signs and banners in support of some of these terrorist groupshave been a regular occurrence at Toronto’s Al Quds rallies in the past.

We at FSWC believe, given thepolitical climate in Canada, as well as the fragile climate in the Middle East,that allowing this event to move forward on Saturday June 9th isboth reckless and dangerous. Ignorance in the face of hatred must no longer betolerated or accepted.

FSWC will continue to do the hardwork necessary to plant the seeds of tolerance and understanding betweencommunities, and to foster an environment which encourages peaceful discussionand the finding of common ground. We will continue this work despite thesignificant head-winds we are faced with, and we will continue this work untilall Ontarians live in true peace and prosperity.

Sincerely,