Toronto police have launched a hate crime investigation after several Israeli flags were deliberately set ablaze outside a church in North York early Wednesday, coinciding with the third anniversary of the October 7 Hamas massacre in Israel, CityNews reported.
Officers responded at approximately 1:30 a.m. to reports of burning flags near Sunrise Avenue and O'Connor Drive, west of Victoria Park Avenue. The incident occurred outside Word of Faith International Christian Centre, located at 65 Sunrise Avenue.
No injuries were reported, and police have not announced any arrests or released information about potential suspects.
Toronto police confirmed to CityNews that the force's Hate Crime Unit is investigating the incident.
Toronto mayoral candidate Brad Bradford denounced the burning of the flags, describing it as an attempt to intimidate both Jewish residents and members of the Christian community.
“Early this morning, someone set Israeli flags on fire outside a church in North York," Bradford said in a statement quoted by CityNews. “Thankfully, no one was hurt. This was not a protest. It was an act of intimidation, aimed at the Jewish community and, it seems, Christian residents right here in Toronto and at a place of worship."
“Fire and hate, together, on a residential street before dawn. That’s meant to frighten people, and everyone in this city should say plainly that it has no place here."
The incident also drew condemnation from Jewish organizations, which warned that attacks motivated by antisemitism increasingly threaten institutions and individuals who publicly support Israel and the Jewish community.
In a joint statement, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and UJA Federation of Greater Toronto described the incident as a hate-motivated arson attack and emphasized its significance on the anniversary of the October 7 massacre.
"Today, on the third anniversary of October 7 - the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust - Toronto’s Jewish community woke up to news that Israeli flags had been burned in a hate-motivated arson attack at a Christian institution."
"Faith International Christian Centre has stood with the Jewish community and with Israel. To see that solidarity answered with fire is a disturbing reminder that hatred does not stop with Jews. Increasingly, those who stand beside us are being targeted too," the statement said.
"Burning Israeli flags outside a church is not simply an act of property destruction. It is an attack on people who had the courage to stand with their Jewish neighbours, and it reflects the broader radicalization Canada’s security agencies have repeatedly warned about - where lies, conspiracy theories, and hatred directed at Jews and Israelis can escalate into intimidation, violence, and terror."
"We are deeply grateful to the Faith International Christian Centre and congregation for their friendship and solidarity, especially at a time when standing with the Jewish community can itself make people a target," the joint statement said.
"Today should be a day of remembrance - for the nearly 1,200 people murdered on October 7, 2023, for those taken hostage, and for the families and communities forever changed by that day. Instead, here in Toronto, we are once again confronting hatred directed not only at Jews, but at those who refuse to abandon us."
"That should alarm every Canadian. When simply standing with the Jewish community carries a cost - when allies are intimidated, threatened, or attacked because they refuse to turn away - this is no longer only a Jewish problem. It is a threat to the kind of country we all want Canada to be."
"We call on leaders at every level of government to condemn this attack unequivocally, to recognize the growing cost being imposed on those who stand with the Jewish community, and to confront the extremism that is making intimidation and violence increasingly commonplace."
Sara Lefton, chief development officer at UJA Federation, told CityNews that the burning of Israeli flags was part of a broader pattern of incidents threatening fundamental freedoms in Canada.
“These are attacks on our common institutions and our freedoms as Canadians," she said.
Reflecting on the three years since Hamas's October 7 attack, Lefton said Jewish Canadians continue to face hostility and intimidation.
“Here in Canada, we have to fight the hatred that we are facing," Lefton said. “It cannot be that we allow Canada to turn into a country where there are flags being set on fire outside of a Christian institution organization, where jews are being targeted on the streets, and where Canadians aren’t allowed to live their lives freely and safely."
The latest incident follows a series of attacks targeting Jewish institutions and businesses across Toronto and the surrounding region since October 7, 2023.
According to Toronto police statistics, 231 hate crimes were recorded in 2025, representing a 50% decrease from the previous year. However, 82% of the 99 incidents classified as religiously motivated were directed against Jews, despite Jewish residents accounting for less than 3% of Toronto's population.
Recent incidents have included shootings at synagogues, an arson attack against a Jewish-owned grocery store and the removal of mezuzahs from apartment doorways.
In March, shots were fired at Temple Emanu-El in North York while congregants gathered for Purim celebrations. Although nobody was injured, the building sustained damage.
Several days later, two additional synagogues, Beth Avraham Yoseph in Vaughan and Shaarei Shomayim in Toronto, were targeted in separate shootings that occurred within hours of each other.
In April, a man allegedly attempted to enter an Orthodox synagogue in Thornhill by force and assaulted an individual before fleeing. The following day, a Toronto Judaica store was targeted when a rock was thrown through its window, marking the third reported attack against the business.
In July, two branches of a Jewish-owned bakery in Toronto were attacked within approximately an hour of each other.