New video footage has emerged from a pro-Palestinian demonstration in the Jewish neighborhood of Toronto’s Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue West intersection, where a speaker called for the annihilation of Israelis and invoked violent rhetoric against the Jewish community.
Earlier in the week, footage circulated on social media from Sunday’s demonstration by the same speaker, who said that Zionists rape, kill, and eat children, as well as invoking other conspiracy theories.
The videos were shared on social media by Leviathan, an X/Twitter account dedicated to naming “Jihadis, Antisemites, Anarchists & other threats. Using OSINT to notify for Public Interest” in Canada, which identifies the speaker as a Toronto-based university instructor and faculty lecturer named Abbas Hamze.
Leviathan shared two additional videos from last weekend’s speech on X on Monday evening.
In the newly surfaced videos, the speaker addresses the crowd through a megaphone: “The clock is ticking; those Israelis on the other side of the street, we will tell you that your passports are no longer available. They will expire soon; they will be useless. You are the most kicked-out people; the Zionists are the most kicked-out people for their mischief. For raping children, killing children, exerting magic, black magic. And we saw this clearly at the Epstein island, so we will tell you: Your mischief will cause you annihilation, and it’s coming soon! And as is prophesied, it will be from the north; from the resistance in Lebanon, your annihilation will be.”
The speaker further declared, “And two days ago was the martyrdom of Imam Hasan al-Askari, who proved first as the imam who will break your neck and spread justice around the world as you have spread corruption everywhere!”
An Islamist battle cry to murder Jews
He then chanted the 7th-century battle phrase “Khaybar Khaybar, ya yahud, jaish Muhammad saya’ud,” a historical reference to the military defeat of a Jewish community in Arabia. Leviathan described the chant in the post accompanying the video as “a battle cry to murder Jews.”
The Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), B’nai Brith Canada, and Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center issued a joint public statement on Monday, condemning the remarks made in the video that surfaced earlier this week and calling for a police investigation into the matter.
The organizations declared in a statement on social media, “What happened at Bathurst and Sheppard this weekend was blatant antisemitism. An individual who is reportedly a university instructor stood in a Jewish neighborhood and repeated some of the oldest and most vile lies and conspiracy theories about Jews, accusing Jews of using ‘black magic,’ raping, murdering, and eating children. These are antisemitic blood libels that have been used for centuries to justify hatred and violence against Jews.”
The joint statement also underscored the ongoing friction at the location, noting, “For far too long, Bathurst and Sheppard has been a regular site of antisemitic harassment, intimidation, and provocation, too often under the guise of anti-Zionism.
“We have seen how anti-Israel hate is being used to legitimize hostility toward Jewish Canadians, with increasingly dangerous consequences.”
Demanding law enforcement action, the groups asserted, “Toronto Police must investigate this incident and, where the law has been broken, charges must follow. There must be consequences for those who repeatedly use public demonstrations as cover to spread hatred [and] incitement and [to] target Toronto’s Jewish community.”
In response to the call and the surfacing evidence, the Toronto Police Service announced that its Hate Crime Unit has launched a formal investigation into the incident.
Richard Robertson, Director of Research and Advocacy at B'nai Brith Canada, said in a statement to the Jerusalem Post, "The information that continues to become available about the antisemitic incident at Bathurst and Sheppard has only confirmed that what occurred was a grotesque example of how anti-Israel protests in Canada are devolving into forums where hate is being openly incited and wilfully promoted.
"We are relieved to learn that the incident is now being investigated by police. Sunday's events must serve as a lesson; hate is being normalized on our streets, and there must be zero tolerance for those who abuse our rights and freedoms to engage in criminal activity. Those responsible for promoting and inciting hate must be thoroughly investigated and held accountable.”
Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s director of Research and Advocacy, said in a statement to The Jerusalem Post, “The information that continues to become available about the antisemitic incident at Bathurst and Sheppard has only confirmed that what occurred was a grotesque example of how anti-Israel protests in Canada are devolving into forums where hate is being openly incited and willfully promoted.
“We are relieved to learn that the incident is now being investigated by police,” Richardson said.
Hate is being normalized,
“Sunday’s events must serve as a lesson; hate is being normalized on our streets, and there must be zero tolerance for those who abuse our rights and freedoms to engage in criminal activity. Those responsible for promoting and inciting hate must be thoroughly investigated and held accountable.”
After sharing the most recent videos, Leviathan posted on X, “Based off several witnesses who attend these targeted protests against the Jewish neighborhood, Dr. Abbas Hamza has made these speeches every single week in front of @TorontoPolice Hate Crimes Unit for at least the past several months. The only reason Toronto Police seem to be acting is that this was captured on video with clear audio, and the post went viral. No community should be faced with this constant incitement week in and week out, let alone the police allowing it and only act[ing] when it gets too much attention.”
In a separate post on X from May, Leviathan wrote, citing alleged social media posts by Hamze: “Abbas Hamze also calls for the kidnapping of Israeli hostages, stating that ‘Hamas has the right to take hostages on October 7th 2023’ while also claiming, ‘Hezbollah has the right to assist Hamas on October 8th.’”
Referring to accompanying screenshots alleged to be from Hamze’s social media posts, Leviathan added, “Abbas Hamze has also been pictured holding up flags of the Islamic Republic of Iran in this Jewish neighborhood while also writing, “We will continue the path of Imam Khamenei, no matter how many sacrifices [there] are, and his pure blood will bear the inevitable victory.”
The demonstration took place amid heightened tensions surrounding recurring protests at the Bathurst Street and Sheppard Avenue West intersection. These regular rallies in the heavily Jewish residential neighborhood have drawn intense community concern and scrutiny, leading to multiple police interventions and the recent arrest of activists, including two individuals detained by law enforcement on charges that included the willful promotion of hatred and public incitement of hatred.
That ongoing hate propaganda investigation stems from earlier demonstrations when suspects allegedly retrieved antisemitic signs from a storage locker before marching toward counter-protesters while shouting derogatory slurs.
This rhetoric also unfolds against a broader national surge in antisemitic attacks targeting Jewish and Israeli institutions across Canada in recent months.
According to tracking data and reports released by advocacy groups such as B’nai Brith Canada and CIJA, violent offenses have risen sharply, marked by high-profile episodes such as targeted shootings and vandalism at Jewish-owned commercial establishments like Toronto’s Kiva’s Bagel Bar locations, gunfire incidents directed at Jewish schools, and a suspected arson attack targeting the kosher restaurant Nöam in Montreal.