Toronto police say they will have ‘strong presence’ around Walk with Israel Sunday

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

Toronto police say they will have a heavy police presence at the annual United Jewish Appeal (UJA) Walk with Israel Sunday.

In a video statement Friday morning, Deputy Police Chief Lauren Pogue said police expect the event, which is now in its 56th year, to “proceed safely and without disruption.”

She said the police presence will include officers from other GTA police forces, as well as OPP, some of them patrolling the surrounding neighbourhoods around the roughly four-kilometre route in North York.

Pogue said police are “aware of plans by some individuals to interfere with the event” on Sunday.

“We continue to uphold the right to peaceful assembly and expression. But intimidation, harassment, hate speech, or criminal behaviour will not be tolerated,” she said. “Anyone engaging in criminal activity can expect to be arrested.”

Pogue said police will have a designated area for protest “to reduce tensions and help avoid confrontations” and added that police are “committed to maintaining public order, enforcing the law, and ensuring that everyone can exercise their rights lawfully and without fear.”

According to UJA, some 50,000 people attended last year’s walk – the largest number ever – and the organization said Friday that it has already seen “record-breaking” registration for this year’s walk, which celebrates the Jewish community, as well as Israeli and Jewish culture.

“We encourage open communication between organizers, demonstrators and police throughout the day and we ask that everyone follow officers’ directions and report any concerns,” Pogue said.

Event comes amid safety concerns

The event this year comes the same week that Toronto City Council moved to protect some spaces from protest with a so-called “bubble zone” bylaw following a passionate debate where council heard some residents no longer feel safe in the city.

Jewish community spaces and events in the GTA have been targeted with countless protests in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war.

This week two young staff members at the Israeli embassy in Washington, D.C. were shot dead as they left an event at a Jewish museum. The suspect in the deadly shooting allegedly told police who arrested him “I did it for Palestine, I did it for Gaza,” according to court documents.

Police forces around the GTA, including Toronto, said they were beefing up their presence at places of worship and other sensitive community spaces in the wake of the shooting, which Prime Minister Mark Carney condemned as “a targeted attack against the Jewish community — a violent act of antisemitism” in comments posted to social media.

“We cannot look away from the power of antisemitism and its radicalization. We must act to keep Jewish Canadians safe,” Carney wrote.

He vowed to move forward with federal legislation, similar to the bubble zone bylaw passed by council, that would make it a criminal offence to “intentionally and willfully obstruct access to any place of worship, schools, and community centres” or to “willfully intimidate or threaten those attending services at these locations.”