What impact will such immigration have?

To answer that, one should reflect on the fact that Gazans are trained (largely in UNWRA schools) from a very early age to hate Jews and seek their destruction. There is no concealment of this since the hatred of Jews, in particular, is taught right in their school texts. So, what will Canadian Gazan immigration lead to? More of what we are already seeing.

This week, Toronto’s Mount Sinai hospital was beset by angry pro-Palestinian protesters chanting for violence. It is not a coincidence that Mount Sinai, a place of healing founded because Jewish doctors had no place to train or work due to antisemitism, was targeted. Given its association with the Jewish community, it fit the pattern of other targets of recent protests: Jewish-owned book stores, restaurants, bagel shops, delicatessens and roadways in Jewish areas.
Hamas’ local apologists argue that it was mere happenstance that Mount Sinai Hospital was the site of the protest since it “coincidentally” is on the road between Queen’s Park, Ontario’s legislature, and Toronto City Hall. Some coincidence given the other not-so-coincidental targets of the ubiquitous rallies on our streets. It was only at Mount Sinai — not any of the other hospitals on the stretch of University Avenue known as “hospital row” — where the rioters leapt over scaffolding, climbed onto the building and shouted threats of intifada as their crowd cheered. Nowhere else was access obstructed and people intimidated.

What is the goal of these protests? Since North America is usually a few years behind Europe in these areas, let’s look there.

Last month, the University of Utrecht, capitulating to pro-Palestinian threats, was forced to postpone a series of conferences on the Holocaust, because, “the safety of the speakers, students, teachers and visitors cannot be guaranteed,” the school said, according to Dutch media. Utrecht has been sensitive to the possibility of extremism since a 2019 tram shooting during which three people were killed.
Other examples abound. In the United Kingdom, actress Maureen Lipman just proclaimed that “nowhere is a safe place to be Jewish at the moment.” German kindergartens bearing the name of Anne Frank want to change their names. And Jewish patrons were forced out of a recent comedy show in the Soho Theatre in central London because they refused to cheer the Palestinian flag. On top of that, there are already cities in Europe and sections of other ones to which Jews are reluctant to travel.

So what is now needed to prevent Toronto from following in Europe’s path?

1. Our Muslim community must begin loudly denouncing the radical Islamists and extreme leftists committing atrocities in their name. They can’t simply say they are opposed to what Hamas did on Oct. 7 and say no more, but must actively denounce the terrorism of radical Islamists, If they do not, they will face the demands we are hearing in Europe to curtail Muslim immigration. If they do, they will be supported broadly by Canadians.

2. The police must begin consistently enforcing the law and arresting those shouting hate speech at these rallies. Our criminal code provides adequate redress. And it is criminal activity to wear a mask in that context, so that should be enforced as well so that those demonstrators shouting non-Charter-protected speech can be identified and punished.

3. What worked for Bill Ackman should occur here. When Harvard students signed an antisemitic petition and Ackman demanded their names in order that he and other corporations could place them on a never-hire list, they quickly renounced their signatures claiming they were put there in error. We saw the same thing when Toronto Metropolitan University students who signed their antisemitic petition removed all traces of themselves on social media when various law firms stated that they were now unhireable.

Identify the demonstrators espousing hate speech and ensure that their identities are known on social media so that employers can decide whether they want to employ or continue to employ identifiable racists. Employees in public, client-facing or management positions in this country can be fired for legal cause without severance for espousing hatred at these rallies or on social media and I reiterate my offer to any employer who fires such an employee and is sued to represent them for free. If this was done, watch how quickly their numbers would disintegrate.

But without such bold and quick actions, Toronto may follow the path of Europe.