B’nai Brith Canada on Wednesday filed a formal complaint with the City of Toronto after a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) flag was raised at City Hall earlier in the week.

The event, which took place on Monday, marked the anniversary of the PLO’s 1988 declaration of “Palestinian Independence,” issued during the First Intifada by a group that was then a designated terrorist entity in Canada.

“Before the ceremony took place, we formally notified the City of Toronto’s Chief of Protocol and External Relations that the event contravened the City’s Flag-Raising Protocol and demanded its cancellation. We made clear that recognizing this anniversary would lend legitimacy to a history of terrorism and extremist violence and heighten fear within the Jewish community. The City chose to proceed,” B’nai Brith Canada said in a statement.

It noted that “Jewish residents in Toronto are already facing unprecedented levels of harassment, threats, vandalism, and intimidation. Allowing this event to proceed signalled disregard for that reality and disregard for the City’s own Flag-Raising Protocol.”

B’nai Brith Canada said that its complaint “outlines clear violations of the City’s Flag-Raising Protocol and details how the decision to proceed with the event failed the Jewish community. The City must correct this error, review how approval was granted, and amend its procedures to prevent a similar occurrence in the future.”

“We expect a full and transparent response from the City of Toronto. Our community deserves nothing less,” it stated.

The raising of the PLO flag comes as Toronto continues to deal with a sharp rise in incidents of antisemitism since Hamas’s October 7, 2023 massacre in Israel and the war in Gaza which followed.

Data released by the Toronto Police Service in May found that the city experienced a historic high in reported hate crime incidents in 2024, with the Jewish community, once again, being the leading target.

Two weeks ago, a suspect smashed windows at Kehillat Shaarei Torah (KST) in Toronto, marking the tenth attack on the synagogue in just 18 months.

A day later, anti-Israel rioters stormed an event featuring IDF veterans. The off-campus event was organized by the Students Supporting Israel chapter of Toronto Metropolitan University. Five suspects were arrested in connection with the incident.