Toronto rallies mark Oct 7 anniversary with pro-Gaza, pro-Israel demonstrations

Hundreds of pro-Gaza demonstrators marched through downtown Toronto on Saturday, days after the third anniversary of the Hamas-led Oct. 7, 2023, massacre in Israel.

Protesters chanted slogans including “We will honor all our martyrs, all our children, sons and daughters!” and “In my lifetime I will see Palestinians living free!”

The demonstrators also chanted “Overthrow the Epstein class,” a slogan criticized as antisemitic for invoking the late Jewish American financier Jeffrey Epstein in rhetoric about powerful elites.

The rally included Jewish and Israeli participants who oppose Israel’s military operations in Gaza and, in some cases, Zionism, the movement supporting a Jewish national homeland.

“I went to school in Haifa, and I saw how Palestinians are treated,” said Shlomit, a 65-year-old pro-Gaza protester who declined to give her full name, citing security concerns.

“I grew up in a very Zionist family but being in Israel actually changed my mind about things,” she continued.

Shlomit also spoke about her connection to Vivian Silver, the Canadian-Israeli peace activist murdered by Hamas during the Oct. 7 attack on southern Israeli communities.

“I knew all these people who were connected to [Vivian]. She was a peace activist, and what happened to her was distressing to me,” Shlomit explained while wearing a pin stating “Jews Against Occupation.”

Across police barricades, a smaller group of counterprotesters gathered with Israeli and pre-Islamic Iranian flags to show support for Israel.

Mahya Tayabi, a 38-year-old Persian woman, explained why she joined the pro-Israel demonstration.

“I’m Persian, but I love Israel. I love Jewish people. Bibi and the IDF helped my country,” Tayabi said, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Some Iranians celebrated after Israeli and U.S. strikes killed Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in late February.

The demonstrations were reportedly largely peaceful. Local police said they arrested one person in connection with an unrelated incident.

The Israeli Ministry for Diaspora Affairs had assessed that approximately 17 anti-Israel demonstrations would take place across Canada between Saturday and Wednesday.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney marked the Oct. 7 anniversary by condemning the Hamas atrocities and expressing solidarity with Israel.

“Canada unequivocally condemns Hamas, which must play no role in the future governance of a demilitarised Palestinian state,” Carney’s statement read. “We stand steadfastly with the Israeli people in their pursuit of a safe and secure Israel as part of a two-state solution."

Carney also honored Silver and other victims of the Hamas attack:

“We remember them for the lives they lived and the people they loved – and we honor the families and friends who continue to mourn their loss. May their memory be a blessing.”

Canada has faced growing concerns about antisemitism and anti-Israel sentiment since the Oct. 7 attack. In June, a Jewish global coalition warned that anti-Zionism and Islamist extremism were fueling antisemitism in Canadian society.

The Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs has also warned that anti-Israel demonstrations can contribute to hostility toward Canada’s Jewish community.

“Canada’s Integrated Threat Assessment Center has warned about the consequences of turning a blind eye: when targeting of the Jewish community becomes frequent and normalized, it can push susceptible individuals toward violence. Events praising the ‘resistance’ responsible for the October 7 atrocities, as communities gather to mourn the murdered, demand moral clarity from civic leaders about what is acceptable in our society.”