Police hope to avoid ‘gauntlet of hate’ at Walk with Israel as they detail ‘robust’ security plan

People gather for United Jewish Appeal’s annual Walk With Israel event in Toronto, on Sunday, June 9, 2024. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Arlyn McAdorey

Police say they will have a significant presence at the annual ‘Walk with Israel’ in North York on Sunday after some attendees at last year’s event said that they were subjected to a “gauntlet of hate” along the route.

Deputy Chief Frank Barredo told reporters at a press conference on Friday afternoon that the police presence along the 3.9-kilometre walk will be “robust” with greater separation between walkers and counter-protesters than has been enforced in previous years.

He said that officers from the Ontario Provincial Police and Durham, York and Peel police will also be supporting crowd control efforts and policing at the event.

“Last year we were well aware of some frustration from participants. It was called a gauntlet of hate if you will . To the dismay of many it was too proximate to the walkers,” he said of a counter-protest that was staged near Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue during the event. “We had police officers there and there was a separation but the very fact that people, families walking by may have heard something that was offensive was really distasteful and something that we are hoping to reduce if not eliminate completely this year.”

Barredo said that police again expect a group of up to 150 demonstrators to protest the event but he said there is a “very robust plan” to “create a greater buffer using more officers and more barricades.”

He said that there will also be undercover officers “along the entirety of the route” that will be on the lookout for hate speech and hate signage.

The measures come after police announced earlier this week that they had charged six people in connection with the display of antisemitic signage at a demonstration near Bathurst and Sheppard in March.

“We have hate crime experts that will be on the ground,” Barredo said. “Their job is to examine what is being said, examine what signage exists there and take the appropriate action.”

Organizers said that last year’s Walk with Israel was attended by approximately 56,000 people.

Police say that road closures will be in effect at Wilson Avenue and Avenue Road, west on Wilson Avenue to Bathurst Street, and north on Bathurst to Ellerslie Avenue to accommodate this year’s event. The road closures will be in effect from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sunday.

Barredo would not confirm how many officers would be placed along the route but did say there will be more than in 2025.

“You are going to have officers deployed on horses, bicycles and such but also officers with helmets, officers with long guns, officers with protective equipment. There are going to be a wide variety of police resources using a wide variety of police equipment,” he said.