Police Investigate Burning of Israeli Flags in Toronto

The Toronto Police Service says it is investigating a possible hate crime after several Israeli flags were set on fire in Toronto’s North York area early on Oct. 7.

Officers were called to the area of Sunrise Avenue and O’Connor Drive at around 1:30 a.m., after receiving reports that several Israeli flags had been set on fire, a police spokesperson said an Oct. 7 statement. The intersection is near Word of Faith International Christian Centre on Sunrise Avenue.

The spokesperson said the Toronto Police Service’s hate crime unit was investigating the matter, and confirmed no one was injured.

The incident comes on the three-year anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel, which killed 1,163 people and saw 251 others taken hostage.

In a social media post, the police service marked the anniversary of the attack, and said residents would continue to see an increased police presence over the next few days, with officers deployed at synagogues and other places of worship.

Toronto mayoral candidate Brad Bradford reacted to the incident in a social media post, characterized the flag burning as an act of intimidation against the Jewish community, Christian residents, and places 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,” he wrote on Oct. 7.

Bradford thanked Toronto Fire Services for responding quickly and urged anyone with information, surveillance footage, or dashcam video from the area to contact authorities.

“A city that is not safe is not free. Hate directed at any community is a threat to every community, and the people responsible for this need to be found and charged,” he added.

Ontario Premier Doug Ford commented on the anniversary of the Hamas attack in a social media post, noting anti-Semitism had increased in Jewish communities in Ontario and worldwide since then. He said his government “stands firmly with Ontario’s Jewish community.”

Prime Minister Mark Carney also commented on the third anniversary of the attacks, while paying tribute to the nine Canadian-Israelis killed during the event.