Ontario Solicitor General Condemns Violence Against Pro-Israel Student Event

Michael Kerzner, Ontario's solicitor general, attends question period at the Ontario Legislature in Toronto on Nov. 28, 2023. The Canadian Press/Chris Young

Ontario’s solicitor general has condemned an incident at a pro-Israel student event near the Toronto Metropolitan University campus where a group of students disrupted a private event, allegedly forcing Jewish students to barricade themselves in a room.

The Toronto Police Service (TPS) said five individuals have been charged after a group of protesters entered a private event on Nov. 6 in the area of Bay Street and Elm Street. Police said the group damaged property and caused those at the private event to “fear for their safety.”

Video circulating on social media shows a group of students barricading themselves in a room, and individuals in black masks are visible through a glass door and window. The students were using furniture in the room to block the door. One of the students could be heard saying, “they’re going to break it.” Another student was sobbing.

Ontario Solicitor General Michael Kerzner said he was “outraged” by the incident.

“What occurred was not a protest—it was intended aggression—and it crossed the line that separates peaceful Ontario values from unlawful and dangerous behaviour,” he said in a statement on social media.

Kerner said that the province’s universities and colleges “must remain places of academic learning,” and that every student has the right to “engage in dialogue and debate without being harassed, threatened, or attacked.”

“Let me be clear: our government will never tolerate hate of any kind. Any instance will be met with the strongest of condemnations and actions.”

Conservative MP for Thornhill, Ont., Melissa Lantsman called for “real consequences” in response to the incident.

“Stop excusing this lawlessness and start enforcing real consequences so the chaos of the mob doesn’t continue as the new norm,” the deputy leader of the Conservative Party said in a Nov. 5 X post.

Conservative Senator Leo Housakos said the incident is proof that Jews are being targetted.

“Anyone denying Jews are under attack is giving license to this very depravity. No other community would endure two years of this abuse without universal outcry,” he said in a Nov. 6 post on X.

Toronto City Councillor James Pasternak said the university needed to address the hostile atmosphere on campus.

“The violent attacks against Jews at Elm and Bay — where demonstrators forced their way into a building hosting a Students Supporting Israel event — are a disgraceful assault on public order, on decency, and on our shared civic values,” Pasternak said in a Nov. 6 social media post.

“You cannot violently attack people you disagree with and still claim to stand for justice. There is no excuse—none—for turning political passion into physical harm.”

He also called on Toronto Metropolitan University to confront the “atmosphere of hostility that has taken root on and around its campus.”

The university said in a statement it was “deeply concerned” by the incident, which it described as an “ongoing police matter.”

“TMU condemns any acts of aggression, intimidation, or violence and our thoughts are with any students who may have been injured during the incident,” the statement said.

The university said it was reviewing policies to see if any further action can be taken.

Charges Laid

Toronto police said officers responded to a call for “unknown trouble” on the campus at 1:13 p.m. on Nov. 5, according to a Nov. 6 news release.

They said that one individual was injured due to broken glass from the forced entry.

Several suspects located in the surrounding area were taken into custody, according to police, who said that some of these individuals obstructed officers and one assaulted an officer in an attempt to prevent an arrest.

Nicole Baiton, 25, and Kiana Alexis, 22, have been charged with forcible entry, membership of an unlawful assembly, and obstructing a police officer. They are scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 5.

Fatimah Mugni, 23, has been charged with forcible entry and being a member of unlawful assembly. Her court date has been scheduled for Jan. 7.

Twenty-nine-year-old Chelsea Wu is facing charges of obstructing a peace officer and assaulting a peace officer and is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 9. Manal Kamran, 21, was also charged with obstructing a peace officer, and is to appear in court on Jan. 7.