Robert Sarner
Times of Israel, Jan. 21, 2024
“If some Jews view the police ban on the anti-Israel demonstrations in Armour Heights as a victory of sorts for their community, many, if not most, remain on edge due to the level of antisemitism, both in number and severity, never seen before in Canada and which shows little sign of abating.”
Amid surging antisemitism in Canada, a short, nondescript bridge over a highway in Toronto has become Ground Zero in the battle between the country’s largest Jewish community and increasingly brazen anti-Israel protesters.
In recent weeks, the latter have staged repeated hate-filled pro-Hamas rallies on the contested overpass, targeting the predominantly Jewish neighborhood of Armour Heights, far from downtown. Police continue to stand guard over the site after chief of Toronto Police Service (TPS) Myron Demkiw announced last week that such protests would no longer be allowed there.
“Our commitment to keeping our city’s Jewish community safe is unwavering,” Demkiw told a TPS board meeting on January 11 after the situation had reached a boiling point. That day, he said to reporters: “Considering all the factors that have transpired in recent weeks, it’s quite clear our communities feel unsafe… particularly our Jewish communities in the immediate vicinity of the Avenue Road bridge [next to Armour Heights].”
It didn’t take long for demonstrators to test Demkiw’s resolve. Two days later, on January 13, despite a heavy police presence, two dozen protesters returned to the site, resulting in several arrests.
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