On July 2, thousands of Islamists, radical anti-Israel activists and members of the fringe anti-Zionist group Naturei Karta will once again march in downtown Toronto to for an end to the Jewish State amid frenzied chants of “Zionism is terrorism”, “down, down, Israel” and “Netanyahu you will see, Palestine will be free”.
Jewish Defense League of Canada (JDL) is embarking on a public campaign to recruit supporters of Israel to join a counter-demonstration during which the pro-Israel side will carry signs under the ironic banner "Happy Al-Quds Day" showing graphic pictures of the hanging of gays in Iran, the savagery of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant and the stoning of women under Shari’a law.
This macabre event, during which Islamists, communists and anti-Israel Jews unite in hate for a few hours once a year, was originally proclaimed in 1979 by Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini as a religious duty for all Muslims to rally in solidarity against Israel and Zionism.
In previous years, the Al-Quds rally in Toronto served as a platform for predominantly Shia Muslims to reiterate their unwavering Islamic commitment to “liberate” Jerusalem from Jewish presence. The speakers expressed their virulent hatred of Zionism, called Israel a “cancer which must be eradicated” and referred to Zionists as the “enemies of humanity”.
In 2013, former President of Mississauga-based Palestine House was investigated for hate speech when he told a crowd: “We give them [Jews] two minutes to leave Jerusalem and then we start shooting. And that’s the only way they’ll understand”.
Several members of Naturei Karta, a fringe anti-Zionist Jewish sect which allies itself with Khomeinists and pro-Palestinian organizations, is often seen in joint demonstrations with a variety of radical Muslims, leftist and Jewish groups, including the Islamic Society of York Region, Independent Jewish Voices and Palestine House, whose senior board member routinely and openly glorifies Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israeli civilians and which was de-funded by the previous Conservative government for its “pattern of support for extremism”.