York University in Toronto recently hosted a panel with some former members of the Israeli Defence Force. Members of Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) showed up to protest and things got ugly.
B’nai Brith Canada reports:
Anti-Israel Mob Fails to Block Event at York UniversityAn attempt to shut down a pro-Israel event on a Toronto university campus has failed.Members of Reservists on Duty, an organization that tours North American campuses “to speak with knowledge and confidence on behalf of Israel,” were hosted by Herut Canada at York University’s main campus on Wednesday evening. Earlier in the week, posters appeared all over the campus urging “No Israeli soldiers on our campus!” – leading to security concerns ahead of the scheduled event.Officers of the Toronto Police Service and private security personnel were on hand to enable attendees to enter the event, despite the best efforts of protesters outside to block them.Some protesters, rallied by the group Students Against Israeli Apartheid (SAIA) York, chanted, “Viva, viva intifada!” The term intifada, in the Israeli context, refers to two historical waves of Palestinian terrorist attacks targeting Israeli civilians.Among the protesters present was Holocaust-denying newspaper editor Nazih Khatatba, who glorified a 2014 massacre at a Jerusalem synagogue and has described Judaism as a “terrorist religion.”At one point, police were forced to intervene to prevent physical violence and injury.
This video from City News Toronto shows an actual brawl breaking out:
The Times of Israel has more:
Protesters violently disrupt pro-Israel event at Toronto’s York UniversityViolence erupted at a protest by pro-Palestinian students against an appearance by Israeli army reservists at York University in Toronto on Wednesday night.Members of the university chapter of Students Against Israeli Apartheid, or SAIA, tried to shut down a university-approved panel discussion featuring Reservists on Duty, a group made up of former Israeli soldiers.The protesters, some with their faces concealed by kaffiyeh scarves, chanted pro-Palestinian slogans in the auditorium that included calling for an intifada, or attacks, against Israeli civilians, the Toronto Sun reported.Punching and scuffling occurred in a nearby stairwell, requiring police to break it up, according to the report. There were some arrests…“Further investigation is required into how a registered student group was permitted to glorify terrorism and attempt to intimidate those peacefully assembling on campus,” Michael Mostyn, chief executive officer of B’nai Brith Canada, said in a statement. “There must be consequences for violent behavior.”The Friends of the Simon Weisenthal Center said it was pressing local authorities and university officials to take action against what it described as “an antisemitic, violent, racist mob sentiment toward Jewish students on this campus.”
Here’s a video from another part of the protest:
A member of the New Democratic Party (NDP) in Canada actually encouraged the protest:
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has denounced the violence from protesters:
Featured image via YouTube.
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