TORONTO — Toronto’s Jewish community is no longer safe. That was the stark warning issued by Roman Baber, Member of Parliament for York Centre, in a formal letter sent this week to Olivia Chow and Myron Demkiw, calling for urgent action to stop what he described as escalating intimidation, threats, and incitement directed at Jewish residents in Toronto.
In the December 19 letter, Baber wrote on behalf of approximately 17,000 Jewish constituents in York Centre and more than 100,000 Jewish Torontonians across the city. He warned that weekly protests concentrated near Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue West have crossed a legal and moral line, transforming from demonstrations into what he described as coercive and threatening actions aimed at residential neighbourhoods.
“The weekly Sunday protests at the northeast corner of Bathurst and Sheppard are meant to intimidate and antagonize local residents,” Baber wrote. “They are not peaceful protests since they include threats and disturb the peace in a residential neighbourhood.”
According to Baber, these protests have created a climate of fear for Jewish families, disrupted daily life, and deprived residents and local businesses of the quiet enjoyment of their property. He argued that such conduct is not protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms when it involves intimidation, harassment, or threats.
A central concern raised in the letter is the repeated use of chants and slogans calling for “Intifada” and “resistance,” language Baber said constitutes explicit incitement to violence. He noted that in the United Kingdom, police have moved to arrest individuals for similar chants, recognizing them as criminal incitement rather than protected speech.
“Call to Intifada, a violent revolt, and ‘resistance’ by any means are incitement to violence,” Baber wrote. “Incitement to violence is incitement to violence in any language. It is a criminal offence.”
Baber emphasized that his appeal was not for special treatment, but for equal and consistent application of the law. He urged municipal leadership and law enforcement to stop deflecting responsibility and to prioritize the safety of Jewish residents before a serious incident occurs.
“All we ask is for equal application of the Rule of Law,” he wrote. “Stop pointing fingers and protect Toronto’s Jewish community before a catastrophe ensues.”
The letter comes amid heightened anxiety within Jewish communities in Canada and globally, following a series of antisemitic incidents and attacks, including the recent terrorist massacre in Sydney, Australia. Community leaders across Toronto have repeatedly warned that rhetoric tolerated on the streets can translate into real-world violence if left unchecked.
Baber’s intervention adds political weight to those concerns. As a sitting Member of Parliament, his warning underscores that the issue has moved beyond community complaints and into the realm of public safety and governance.
The Toronto Police Service has previously stated that it balances public safety with the right to protest. However, Baber’s letter challenges whether that balance is being applied fairly when protests target a specific ethnic and religious community in residential areas, using language widely understood by Jewish communities as calls for violence.
Jewish advocacy organizations have long argued that antisemitism often hides behind political protest language, especially when Israel is used as a proxy for targeting Jews locally. Baber’s letter echoes that concern, framing the issue not as a foreign policy debate but as the protection of Canadian citizens in their own neighbourhoods.
As of publication, neither the Mayor’s Office nor Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw has issued a public response to Baber’s letter. Jewish community leaders say they are watching closely to see whether city leadership will act decisively or continue to allow what they describe as an increasingly dangerous status quo.
