Latest news with #antiIsraelProtest
National Post
4 days ago
- Politics
- National Post
Planned anti-Israel protest in Toronto's east end is 'just a way to harass Israel and the Jewish community'
Threats of 'Danforth takeover,' a planned anti-Israel protest in Toronto's east end is 'just a way to harass Israel and the Jewish community,' says Toronto City Councillor James Pasternak. Article content 'We've been putting up with this lawlessness for close to two years, and as long as there's minimal consequences, it will continue,' he told National Post on Tuesday over the phone. 'These threats against city critical infrastructure are very serious, whether it turns into a hoax or not.' Article content Article content He called on police and the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) to ensure public safety in a social media post on Monday. Article content Toronto City Councillor James Pasternak condemns threats of a 'Danforth Takeover' by pro-Palestinian groups and urges Toronto Police and TTC security to ensure safe public access to all subway stations and City of Toronto infrastructure. — James Pasternak (@PasternakTO) August 11, 2025 Article content Anti-Israel protests have been widespread around the world particularly after Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 people. It triggered a war in the Middle East that is still ongoing. Article content Article content The protest is being organized by 'pro-Palestinian groups,' Pasternak said. It is set to start at 5 p.m. and estimated to last until 7 p.m. on Tuesday. The plan is for protesters to 'bring signs, pots and pans' to make noise with at every subway stop from Kipling to Main stations on the Bloor-Danforth line. The group is demanding 'an immediate arms embargo' and an end to 'Canada's complicity' in the war. Article content In a report by Israel's Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism, the potential protest in Toronto is listed as high risk. Its organizers — East End Acts, World BEYOND War Canada, Palestinian Youth Movement Toronto, Palestine Solidarity Network, Canadians for Peace and Justice in the Middle East — have more than 137,000 followers on Instagram combined. The protest is intended to be part of the 'Arms Embargo Week of Action' in Toronto. Organizers for the protest did not immediately return National Post's request for comment. Article content '(The protest's) extended footprint across multiple public transit nodes increases potential disruption to pedestrian and vehicular movement in a densely populated area,' says the report. 'While there are no explicit calls for violence, the confrontational tone and location in busy public corridors present a risk of clashes with passersby or counter protesters.' Article content Article content City councillor Brad Bradford said he agreed with Pasternak's concerns in a post on X on Monday. Article content 'Threats to shut down transit are dangerous and unacceptable,' he wrote. Article content On Tuesday morning, MP for Eglinton-Lawrence Vince Gasparro, appointed as the Parliamentary Secretary (Combatting Crime), shared a letter addressed to Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow on X. Article content He said the planned 'demonstrations today threaten to shutdown access to transportation infrastructure while widening divisions between our communities.' In the letter, he noted the escalation of 'hatred and intimidation' toward the Jewish community since October 7.
News.com.au
15-07-2025
- Politics
- News.com.au
Former Greens candidate Hannah Thomas to fight charges over anti-Israel protest in Sydney
Former Greens candidate Hannah Thomas will fight charges over an anti-Israel protest in Sydney that left her with a bloodied eye after police confirmed they were not dropping any further charges. The former Grayndler candidate was involved in a protest picketing SEC Plating in Belmore in Sydney's southwest on June 27 following reports the company provided jet components used by the Israel Defence Forces. Police issued a move-on order to about 60 people, but a scuffle broke out when some failed to comply with directions. Ms Thomas was later pictured with a swollen eye and dried blood on her face following the protest, claiming on social media that she may have suffered permanent vision damage and had undergone multiple surgeries. She was subsequently charged with hindering or resisting arrest and two counts of refusing to comply with all directions to disperse. An additional charge, related to the rarely used emergency anti-protest powers introduced after the 2005 Cronulla riots, was earlier dropped by police. Appearing before Bankstown Local Court on Tuesday, Ms Thomas's lawyer, Stewart O'Connell, told magistrate Glenn Walsh he believed there would be 'an application in relation to at least one of the charges'. Instead, the police prosecutor confirmed officers were seeking pleas in relation to all three charges. Pleas of not guilty were subsequently entered to all three matters. The court was told the NSW Director of Public Prosecution had taken carriage. Ms Thomas was one of five people to appear before the court on Tuesday charged over the protest. Rising Tide organiser Zachary Edward Jaworowski Schofield, Brandon Eid, Shane Reside and Holly Zhang all had their matters heard on Tuesday, with Mr O'Connell entering pleas of not guilty to each. The court was told the matters would be referred to the NSW DPP because of the 'seriousness and media interest'. In the matters of Mr Reside and Ms Zhang, the court was told two witnesses would be called, with body-worn video to be produced for the hearing but not any CCTV. Mr Schofield is expected to return before the court later on Tuesday for a bail application. NSW Greens call for Premier to take action In a statement, lawyer Peter O'Brien on Monday called for the charges against Ms Thomas to be dropped, claiming he was 'satisfied' the former Greens candidate had been 'punched in the face' by police. 'My office has now viewed all available footage of the incident giving rise to the moments leading to the injury to Ms Thomas's eye on the 27th of June, and I am satisfied that Ms Thomas was punched in the face by a male police officer, causing extensive and serious injury to her eye,' Mr O'Brien said. He said Ms Thomas was an 'innocent victim of gratuitous police brutality' and he condemned the actions of police as 'completely and entirely unjustifiable'. He said Ms Thomas would be filing a civil claim for compensation against the state over her 'apprehension, injury, detention, and prosecution'. Ms Thomas had earlier claimed her injuries were the result of anti-protest laws introduced by the NSW Labor government this year following a spate of anti-Semitic attacks and an explosives-laden caravan found in Dural in Sydney's northwest that police later said was part of a fake terrorism plot. The laws outlaw many forms of protest outside places of worship and introduce harsh new penalties. They are subject to a constitutional challenge in the NSW Supreme Court, launched on behalf of the Palestine Action Group. On Tuesday, NSW Greens MLC Sue Higginson called on Police Minister Yasmin Catley to stand down Assistant Police Commissioner Brett McFadden after reports he falsely claimed he reviewed police body-cam footage from the incident involving Ms Thomas and found no evidence of misconduct. 'NSW Police have misled the public, ignored evidence and made excuses for violence against women – and Labor Premier Chris Minns hasn't uttered a word against them,' Ms Higginson said on Instagram. 'The inconsistent statements from NSW Police make it clear that all charges against Hannah and her fellow protesters should be dropped. 'We will see more violence against peaceful protests unless NSW Labor urgently repeal their draconian anti-protest laws.'
Daily Mail
27-06-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Former Greens candidate may lose her sight after being arrested at an anti-Israel protest
A former Greens candidate may lose sight in one eye after an incident at an anti-Israel protest in Sydney 's west. Hannah Thomas, 35, who recently ran against Anthony Albanese in the Sydney electorate of Grayndler, was photographed with a bruised and bloodied eye in Belmore on Friday morning. She had gathered with about 50 other protesters outside a Lakemba business accused by the Greens of supplying materials used by the Israeli military. The NSW Greens accused the business of 'reportedly [being] involved in providing plating services for various parts used in F-35 jets. 'The State of Israel's fleet of around 40 F-35 rely on the global supply chain and supplement supply from countries like Australia to continue the genocide against the Palestinian people,' it said in a statement on Friday morning. Police issued a move-on direction to the group at about 5.35am on Friday to disrupt the alleged unauthorised protest. Ms Thomas allegedly refused to comply with the order and sustained facial injuries during her arrest before being taken to Bankstown Hospital for treatment. It is not clear exactly what caused Ms Thomas' injuries. Doctors are worried she may never regain sight in her injured eye, the Daily Telegraph reported. The NSW Greens said the extent of her injuries meant she may require facial reconstruction surgery. It said lawyers had been engaged to represent Ms Thomas and the other protesters who were arrested during the incident. Ms Thomas has attended anti-Israel protests in the past, having called on Australia to impose sanctions on Israel, whose government she accused of genocide. She was among dozens of demonstrators who descended on Albanese's electorate office to demand action after Greta Thunberg's 'Freedom Flotilla' was seized by Israeli defence forces earlier this month. A spokesperson for NSW Police told Daily Mail Australia Ms Thomas had not been charged following the incident. 'She sustained facial injuries while being arrested for allegedly failing to comply with a police direction and the arrest was discontinued and (she) was taken to Bankstown hospital for treatment,' they said. Four others were arrested and charged during the protest, including a 24-year-old man who was allegedly found in possession of a stolen police body-worn camera. Police said the camera was stolen by an unknown protester during a scuffle and was tracked to the 24-year-old's location. Greens MP Sue Higginson described the actions of police as 'brutal and excessive', before calling on NSW Premier Chris Minns to take accountability. Three men and a 29-year-old woman were taken to Campsie Police Station following their arrests. The 29-year-old woman was charged with refuse/fail to comply with direction under part 14 while the 24-year-old man was charged with larceny and goods in personal custody suspected being stolen (not m/v). The 41-year-old man was charged with use offensive language in/near public place/school and the 26-year-old man was charged with refuse/fail to comply with direction under part 14 and hinder or resist police officer in the execution of duty. All four were granted conditional bail to appear before Bankstown Local Court on Tuesday July 15. Police said inquiries were ongoing.
Fox News
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Columbia faculty rights group condemns university's handling of library takeover: 'Authoritarian ethos'
A faculty rights group at Columbia University condemned the administration's response to an anti-Israel protest at the campus library on Wednesday, which resulted in dozens of arrests. A letter from the executive committee of the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) at Columbia aimed at addressing the "erosion of shared governance" denounced a decision made by acting president Claire Shipman to call the NYPD for assistance. The protest broke out on Wednesday afternoon when anti-Israel agitators stormed Butler Library, occupying a reading room inside and breaching one of the building's exterior doors. Two campus police officers were also injured during the protest. The NYPD said 80 arrests were made, and Fox News learned approximately 50 of those people were confirmed to be Columbia students. In its letter, the AAUP mostly ignored the details of the protest, which damaged and disrupted a study area for students preparing for finals, and described the incident as "tragic" while focusing on the university's "institutional slide toward executive rule." The group said in an attempt to "placate" the Trump administration, Columbia's leadership has weakened academic freedom, shared governance and student protest, "echoing the authoritarian ethos now holding sway in Washington." "As the Trump administration has demanded ever more draconian crackdowns on student protest, our administration has responded by granting enhanced powers to public security that can as easily escalate as defuse confrontations with students and that last night did not prevent the administration from again summoning the NYPD to campus," the group wrote, in part. Prior to Wednesday's protest, Shipman had said she would be reviewing and reforming the University Senate, which is a governing body at Columbia made up of elected representatives from all departments on campus, amid negotiations with the federal government over the drastic cut in funding to the university. In March, Columbia lost more than $400 million in federal grants after the Trump administration said the school failed to address the rise in antisemitism on campus. The AAUP called on her not to follow through with the review as the university is experiencing a "moment of crisis," adding that it "strenuously objects to both the timing and the plan" for it. "In imposing this review at this time and in this manner, the President and the Board of Trustees are taking aim at shared governance and replacing it with top-down corporate management, indicating a profound misunderstanding of what university leadership and fiduciary obligations require," the group said. The group shared a list of six recommendations, which call for a "unified response to the current crisis" instead of dismantling the decision-making structures that have been in place for decades. The AAUP has also been vocal in its criticism of Columbia for punishing, suspending and expelling students involved in anti-Israel protests on campus. One of the group's recommendations includes radically enhancing "mediation, consultation and de-escalation protocols for immediate deployment during campus disturbances, especially student protests."
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Mostly women arrested in Columbia University library takeover: NYPD
The New York Police Department arrested 61 females after anti-Israel agitators stormed Columbia University's Butler Library on Wednesday as students were studying for finals. In total, the NYPD made 80 arrests – 19 males and 61 females, according to a source. A source also said at least 50 of the 80 protesters arrested were Columbia University students. Protesters renamed the Butler Library "Basel Al-Araj Popular University." Students at the Ivy League institution said protesters climbed on a desk and chanted "Free Palestine," and demanded that the university divest from Israel. At the entrance gate to Columbia University, a security guard said, "Nobody comes in, nobody comes out." Dozens Of Anti-israel Agitators Arrested After Storming, Taking Over Columbia University Library During Finals Claire Shipman, Columbia's acting president, said in a statement on Wednesday that the NYPD was called to help "secure" the building. She added that two university police officers were injured. Read On The Fox News App "Sadly, during the course of this disruption, two of our Columbia Public Safety Officers sustained injuries during a crowd surge when individuals attempted to force their way into the building and into Room 301," Shipman said. "These actions are outrageous." Columbia U Threatens To Arrest Anti-israel Protesters Remove Encampments As New Demostrations Loom In a separate statement, Shipman said individuals broke into one of the library's reading rooms. "Disruptions to our academic activities will not be tolerated and are violations of our rules and policies; this is especially unacceptable while our students study and prepare for final exams. Columbia strongly condemns violence on our campus, antisemitism and all forms of hate and discrimination, some of which we witnessed today. We are resolute that calls for violence or harm have no place at our University," Shipman said. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) was also monitoring the incident, noting the agency would work to determine if any participants were noncitizens. "Time to make a point," an ICE source told Fox article source: Mostly women arrested in Columbia University library takeover: NYPD
