Pro-Hamas counterprotesters descend on Toronto's Walk with Israel
Episode Stats
Words per minute
151.73195
Harmful content
Hate speech
7
sentences flagged
Summary
On October 7th, a candlelight vigil was held in support of the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. On October 8th, counter-protesters began gathering at the same spot. They dressed up in cosplay as Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas. On the eve of the vigil, police blocked off the protest because of the counter-demonstrators.
Transcript
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This is Clayton DeMaine with True North in Toronto.
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We're at the corner of Bathurst and Shepherd, a Jewish neighborhood where protesters have
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been gathering since a week after October 7th, every week on Sunday.
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We're standing actually on the site where Hamas supporters dressed up in cosplay as Yahya
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So it seems as if police have separated the counter-protesters and the protesters for this
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We're here, they're gathering here because counter-protesters have said that they were
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So we're just hours before the march happens, so we're going to take this time to ask supporters
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of Israel of why they're here, what matters to them, and also try to talk to the counter-protesters
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if they would be willing to speak with us about why they're here.
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You know, I've heard that you guys have been here gathering at this corner since a week after
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So, can you just talk to me about some of the things that you guys have experienced here?
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Well, yeah, there's been a gathering here of people from the Jewish community and certainly
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other people who have joined us as well to set up sort of like a vigil for the hostages
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That has been ongoing till now, in fact, because there still are hostages, believe it or not,
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And nobody raises the issue that they're starved, food isn't getting to them, the Red Cross is
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And while this vigil has been going on since October 8th, or a week after October 7th, there
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have been Hamas people, Hamas supporters gathering here, glorifying Hamas, glorifying the slaughter,
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In fact, they came to dress up as Yahya Sinwar, who was the leader of Hamas.
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So, it's been very serious, and unfortunately, the Toronto police are not enforcing the law
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What do you make of the counter-protesters there, who are kind of in between, where the
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You see, what you have on this walk, it's a walk that's been going on for more than 50
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It has nothing to do with the current situation in Gaza.
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And what you have are families with little children, babies, toddlers, walking through,
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being yelled at, like all Zionists are terrorists from the river to the sea.
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Why should they be listening to this Jew hatred?
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And how is this hatred allowed in a democratic society where people aren't free?
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There's a rise in anti-Semitism, in Toronto especially.
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Why do you think it's important that all these people come out and show support for Israel and
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They have to, the anti, the Hamas supporters have to know that they're overwhelmingly in the
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The minute they're not confronted, they gain momentum and gain power.
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But in terms of anti-Semitism, there's nothing new.
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It's just out in the open now because of the way society is with the proliferation of social
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Everybody who's a Jew hater was a Jew hater before October 7th.
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Why do you think the Islamic regime of Iran's supporters are, or even, and the state, like
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why are they involved in the Israel-Palestine situation?
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Why do you think that they want Israel to be destroyed?
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Actually, if you take a look at it and see, you can see how many of these people are the
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They've been financed for over 40-some-odd years to make trouble in the Middle East.
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They've been fed by the Islamic regime in Iran.
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This is time for us to be united and get rid of the regime that sits in Iran and cause
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October 7th is only one of the tricks they pulled out of that hat.
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Only one way to bring back the stability to the whole region is to free Iran and some maximum
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support for Iran and putting the maximum pressure on the regime.
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Once and for all, get rid of the regime that causes all this trouble in the Middle East.
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You know, from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.
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What do you make, as a Jewish Canadian, what do you make of those chants?
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I mean, like, I've always found from the river to the sea to be kind of funny.
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Because if you know the deep history, you're like, what river?
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But, like, the mandate for Palestine covers Jordan.
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But the other one you said is rather insidious.
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That's clearly a pro-Adolf Hitler, pro-Adolf Eichmann, pro-ethnic cleansing.
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So, being a Jewish Canadian in North America, what I learned on 9-11 is, oh, terrorism happens to other people as well.
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So, the antifadas were just, I remember, you know, one of the teachers at a Jewish day school running out of the classroom crying.
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Because her nephew had just been blown up on a bus.
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So, when you say the only one solution is the antifada revolution, you mean our solution, and you mean final solution, is kill all the Jews.
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I say you're a bunch of Nazis, and we will stand up to you.
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Even my grandfather fought for Canada in the Second World War.
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He was in the Canadian Air Force, and he fought Nazis.
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And I'll fight Nazis here, whether they be at Bathurst and the Shepherd, or in Europe, or anywhere else.
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And I'm proud to be Canadian, just like my grandfather was.
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I said, after 11 years in the Israeli Air Force, very proud in the time of Canada.
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I see that Canada is really holding and supporting terrorist groups.
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You know, you'd hear from the other side a lot about, like, criticisms of the Israeli action against, you know, Gaza and Hamas.
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What is something that you think that Canadians just don't understand about the situation there?
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The Canadians don't understand that Hamas is using children, women, as protecting themselves in hospitals, babysitting places.
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And Israel, by the way, lost many, many soldiers because they try to avoid killing children and women.
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Unfortunately, when it's side by side, things can happen.
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I know how difficult it is, and it's very difficult.
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I think that they need to go there and see to themselves and after talk about, but they'll refuse to do it because people don't want to believe in the truth.
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It's just to blame Israel because we always are blamed.
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So most of the Israeli supporters are going home.
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But we can see that the people here, the anti-Israel crowd, are so motivated.
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They're willing to stand in the rain to shout at Jews.
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We've spoken to Daniel Boardman, a journalist, who was telling us that that saying is very close to the final solution of the Nazi German government.
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We tried to speak with the anti-Israel side, but they wouldn't speak to us.
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They would only, you know, yell their favorite slogans.
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So this has been Clayton Demain with True North reporting at Bathurst and Shepherd in Toronto.