Anti-Israel protesters target Hanukkah events after Bondi terrorist attack

Following a devastating mass shooting at a menorah lighting event at Bondi Beach in Australia, anti-Israel protesters began targeting Hanukkah events just hours after the attack.

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Following a devastating mass shooting at a menorah lighting event at Bondi Beach in Australia, anti-Israel protesters began targeting Hanukkah events just hours after the attack, including in North York and Toronto, while separate protests later targeted a Christmas market in Montreal.

At the intersection of Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue, in the heart of Toronto’s Jewish neighbourhood, where both pro and anti-Israel demonstrators have gathered every Sunday since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, anti-Israel activists gathered to protest Jewish-Canadians who were lighting a menorah for Hanukkah.

The terrorist attack at Bondi Beach left at least 15 people dead and dozens more injured. One of the two shooters was stopped by an unarmed immigrant who wrestled the gun out of the terrorist’s hands. The murderers’ car was found to have later been draped with the Islamist terrorist group ISIS’s flag.

Independent journalist Caryma Sa’d posted a video from the Sunday event showing protesters stomping on a photo of Meir Weinstein, the founder of Israel Now, who helps organize the Jewish contingent of the Sunday protests. Protesters were also shown shouting a pro-Hamas song at Hanukkah celebrants.

In one video, Firis Al-Najim, a frequent pro-terror protester who tried to organize a Remembrance Day-style vigil for Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar last year, said he hopes Hamas terrorists “prosecute” Weinstein next time he visits Israel. The song’s lyrics were shared by Weinstein on his X page, which calls to “ambush the Israeli special forces, which frights every Jew.”

Another video shared by Sa’d on X show Al-Najim slapping and banging photos of elected officials, including Conservative MPs Roman Baber and Melissa Lantsman, city councillor James Pasternak and Ontario’s solicitor general of Ontario Michael Kerzner.

The anti-Israel protesters’ signs alleged that the elected officials had met with the now-disbanded Jewish Defence League.

After lighting the menorah at Bathurst and Sheppard, Baber responded to the protesters,

He said they were “threatening him in real time,” adding that the menorah would be lit for another “2000 years.”

According to Rebel News reports, activists were calling the Hannuka celebraters “baby killers” and saying “all Zionists are terrorists” while the Jewish community members prayed, listened to speeches, and lit the menorah.

Other clips shared by X user Leviathan show protesters yelling at Jewish people driving passed to “go to hell.”

Toronto Police Services told True North in an email that officers are deployed to Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue every Sunday.

“Yesterday, there was an enhanced police presence for the Menorah lighting and following the terror attack in Australia,” Stephanie Sayer, a spokesperson for the TPS, said. “There were no injuries reported and no arrests made.”

In a post on X, Leviathan noted that Bondi Beach in Australia shares a resemblance to the corner of Bathurst and Sheppard in Toronto, as it’s a spot where pro- and anti-Israel demonstrations have taken place every Sunday. The X user warned that the terrorist attack which happened at Bondi Beach could take place in Toronto if police are not careful.

Toronto wasn’t the only place in Canada where anti-Israel activists protested holiday events for non-Muslim religions. One video shared online by commentator Melissa Rogers showed pro-Palestine activists standing in front of a Christmas market in Montreal, calling Jesus a Palestinian.

In the Bible, Jesus is noted as living in Judea. Jesus was also Jewish.