B”nai Brith Canada called on Toronto to take action by banning the Al-Quds Day hatefest that takes place annually in the heart of the city, launching a petition aiming to convince the city to proscribe the annual event.
During this year”s Al-Quds Day rally that took place in April, participants chanted genocidal slogans and speakers praised terrorists, creating a hostile environment for Jews in the streets of downtown Toronto, Canada”s most populous city with its largest Jewish community.
Among the shocking sights at Al-Quds Day 2023 was the brandishing of a Hezbollah flag and speakers in senior positions with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) and Samidoun. Hezbollah and the PFLP are designated-terrorist entities in Canada, while Samidoun is recognized as a terrorist front group by Israel.
Speakers at the rally included Khaled Barakat, a senior member of the PFLP, and Charlotte Kates, International Coordinator of Samidoun, both of whom are the subjects of ongoing B”nai Brith investigations for their Canada-based activities.

In response, B”nai Brith has launched a petition calling on the City of Toronto to ban the rallies, which it described as “venomous gatherings,” pointing out that Berlin, “fed up with the caustic nature of Al-Quds Day,” has banned their occurrence.
Al-Quds Day was declared in 1979 by Ayatollah Khomeini, the leader of the Iranian Revolution. Al- Quds Day rallies take place annually in cities around the world, with the events platforming extreme anti-Israel advocates who regularly promote hate against the world”s sole Jewish state and its inhabitants.
“It”s time for Toronto to intervene and bring an end to these hateful gatherings,” B”nai Brith Canada CEO Michael Mostyn said. “There exists precedent for using legal tools to bring an end to rallies that inspire hate against Jews. There is no excuse for Toronto to remain inactive in the face of such vitriol.”