Shutting down public events, just because they can, will only diminish the considerable public support they have
“Ceasefire now!” protesters shouted at Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow on Sunday afternoon, as she attempted to host a New Year’s levee and skating party on the rink in Nathan Phillips Square, just outside City Hall.
“I do agree,” she responded cheerfully. “You’ve seen my message (supporting the) ceasefire, right?”
It didn’t work. The event was scheduled for two hours, but within 30 minutes Chow was reportedly escorted into City Hall and city staff were ordering everyone off the ice, protesters and skaters alike.
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Chow called two months ago for “the immediate and unconditional return of all hostages and a ceasefire.” Not shockingly, neither that nor the federal government’s support for a ceasefire at the United Nations has made a dent at Israel Defense Forces headquarters. But nor does it seem to have remotely satisfied the pro-Palestinian protesters still taking to Canadian streets.
Instead, here in Toronto, the protesters’ tactics seem to get uglier the more they get what they want.
When they began targeting Jewish-owned businesses, there was usually some fig-leaf justification on offer.
It’s not that restaurant chain Cafe Landwer CEO Nir Caspi is Jewish, you understand; it’s that he is too proud of his service in the Israel Defense Forces. It’s not that espresso-bar chain Aroma is owned by Jews, heavens no; it’s that it has a location in Ma’ale Adumim, an Israeli settlement in the West Bank. It’s not that Indigo CEO Heather Reisman is Jewish, how dare you even suggest it; it’s that her HESEG Foundation for Lone Soldiers funds scholarships for non-Israelis who enlist in the IDF. We didn’t mean to protest that Jewish daycare centre; we were trying to protest Chrystia Freeland’s constituency office across the street and, well, maybe some of us got lost.
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It was never remotely convincing — how could it be, after the unambiguous public celebrations in the immediate aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7 pogrom? But it at least suggested protest organizers discerned a line in the sand that they shouldn’t cross. It seemed they at least wanted a semi-plausible defence to the charge of rank antisemitism.
Since then, it’s been nothing but downhill. Protesters have targeted Jewish Toronto City Councillor Josh Matlow, whose positions on Gaza and Israel could hardly be more balanced. A Jewish-owned grocery store was firebombed, which is a sentence that should alarm every Canadian. Peacefully, but still disturbingly, protesters have repeatedly occupied a highway overpass in Toronto that no one would choose for a demonstration other than to intimidate people entering a Jewish neighbourhood.
I’ve not seen anyone on the protesters’ side even attempt a more salubrious explanation for that blockade. If it’s not about targeting a Jewish neighbourhood, knowing pretty much everyone sees it that way, wouldn’t it be in well-meaning protesters’ best interests to relocate? It’s not exactly convenient for public transit, this overpass.
Toronto police have been taking it on the chin ever since Oct. 7 for what many see as an overly indulgent approach to the protesters. That has come to a head with respect to the aforementioned overpass: Whenever a critical mass of protesters assembles, police simply close it, citing an abundance of caution. Those who think police ought to clear the road were particularly incensed this past weekend when video emerged of police bringing hot coffee to protesters.
It’s exactly the sort of policing Ontario forces are known for in pretty much every situation: endless deescalation, at almost any cost, past the point of a fault. But that’s a long-running issue. I’m far more immediately alarmed by the protests themselves — not so much because I disagree with them as because the majority of Canadians, and certainly Torontonians, agree with them.
A Mainstreet Research poll for the National Council of Canadian Muslims, published in late November, found 71 per cent of respondents supported Canada calling for an immediate ceasefire — 81 per cent, if returning all hostages was a condition. By a score of 68-32, respondents thought protecting civilian lives in Gaza should be a higher priority than smashing Hamas.
Most other protest movements in recent Canadian history, if not all, have enjoyed relatively little support. Three weeks into the Ottawa occupation, the Angus Reid Institute found just 27 per cent of respondents supported the protesters, while 72 per cent agreed they should “go home.” An Ipsos poll conducted days earlier found 59 per cent agreed with the statement: “The truck protest is mostly a group of anti-vaxxers and bigots intent on causing mayhem and they should not be allowed to protest.” An Ipsos poll for Global News, published two weeks into the CN rail blockade, found 61 per cent of respondents opposed.
What the pro-Palestinian protesters want from Canada, the only things Canada can provide, they have already received: Official calls for a ceasefire, and expansive freedom to make their voices heard. The more these ugly demonstrations continue, the more their organizers risk being seen as protesting Canadian society, Canadian everyday life, in general. That’s not a PR war they can win, and not one they should want to be seen waging. And people have every right to be disturbed by it.
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