When demonstrators call for ‘jihad’ and people are hit with flagpoles, that goes too far

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Freedom to protest does not mean that calling for war in the streets is legal.

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Or condoning someone being hit with a flagpole.

Scrawling a swastika on the sidewalk in a neighborhood where many Jewish people live is a hate crime, dressing up in full disguise with the look of a terrorist and entering the lobby of Toronto Metropolitan University to scare people, firing bullets being shot in the eye of a Jewish girl at school or an alleged attack on a woman outside a Jewish daycare center are all variants of terrorism.

This is the Greater Toronto Area in 2024.

In all these cases the police are investigating. And just because they don’t press charges on the spot doesn’t mean they won’t do so later.

Perhaps the most recent example of this is what happened in Mississauga on Sunday, in which a video emerged of a pro-Palestinian march in which chants allegedly incited violence.

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“Jihad is our path, our goal is Allah and death in the way of Allah is our best ambition” is what was reportedly shouted by a speaker and followed by the crowd.

“Yesterday, massive calls for Jihad were made in Arabic in Mississauga, following Mayor Carolyn Parrish’s approval to hold a vigil for Hamas Yahya Sinwar despite the cancellation,” wrote an X account called Leviathan.

It caught the attention of many, including the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs, B’nai Brith, Israel Now and the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center.

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“The scenes from a march yesterday in Mississauga are deeply disturbing,” the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs said on social media. “Calls for jihad on the streets of Ontario and Canada are wrong and shocking. We demand that Peel Police investigate this demonstration of hate and hostility.”

And now Peel Police have responded.

“Peel Regional Police are aware of the post in question and the 11 Division Criminal Investigations Bureau is actively investigating the matter,” said Acting Sgt. Sara Patten. “Peel Regional Police will not tolerate any form of hate in our community. Resources have been allocated to manage the protests and investigate any associated criminal acts, including hate crimes.”

The investigation comes after a notice from organizers of a planned martyrdom vigil on November 26 to commemorate the death of Hamas leader Sinwar at the hands of the Israeli army was canceled, citing security concerns.

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Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish has received a lot of criticism for not originally condemning this plan for Celebration Square. She has also come under fire for decades-old tweets in which her Palestine has been.” ‘ and know ‘what’s going on’.

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When asked about this, Parrish said, “(I) am not answering your questions because I want this issue to fall back under the radar. Municipal politicians are concerned with municipal issues. The world’s problems only fall on the city when local city property is used for protests and vigils. Then we will be governed by the constitution: the right to assembly and the right to freedom of expression.”

But Parrish did confirm that she “went to the West Bank four or five times during my time in the Chretien administration, which supported a two-state solution. One trip with all groups included crossing into Gaza. Would you be shocked to know that Hazel (McCallion) also traveled to the West Bank?”

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While previous social media posts and previous positions may add context to Parrish’s reluctance to speak out against the Sinwar vigil and even tell the council that the beloved Nelson Mandela was once considered a terrorist, current times with alleged threats about jihad are not undermined. the carpet as if it were nothing.

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And Peel Police don’t do that.

Meanwhile, the pro-Palestinian protests are taking their toll on both Toronto and Peel police, who have to staff and battle with them every week.

In Toronto, officers are overworked and sometimes overwhelmed.

But the temperature on all these protests is starting to rise to an even higher level of concern. If pro-Palestinian demonstrators go to Jewish neighborhoods of the city to provoke a group calling for the release of more than a hundred remaining hostages, then that is already a problem.

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But when video emerges of one of the protesters carrying a Palestinian flag appearing to attack Rebel News reporter Alexandra Lavoie with the wooden pole he was attached to, it offers insight into just how bad this could get.

“Yes, police are investigating this incident,” Toronto police spokesperson Shannon Eames said Tuesday morning. “No arrests have been made at this time.”

As police have said before, this doesn’t mean there won’t be any.

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