TORONTO -- A Rabbi has been charged by police after helping organize a protest that left the steps of the Israeli consulate in Toronto painted red.
Some members of the Jewish community, as well as other activists, condemned Israel’s violence in Gaza Friday morning by painting the steps of the consulate—something they say was meant to symbolize a river of blood.
The action was taken on the same day that a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas was announced, ending an 11-day war that left more than 250 people dead.
The vast majority of the people killed were Palestinians.
On Friday, Rabbi David Mivasair, a member of Independent Jewish Voices, told CTV News Toronto that the “violence by Israel across Palestine cannot be washed away.”
“Red paint streaming from the Israeli consulate onto the street in Toronto represents the blood of massacred innocent Palestinian civilians,” he said outside the consulate. “The ceasefire doesn't end the injustice and oppression. Palestinians are living under pervasive deprivation, domination and Israeli oppression.”
In a news release issued Sunday, police say they were called to the consulate on Bloor Street around 11 p.m. to investigate damage to the area.
The following day, Hamilton resident Mivasair, 69, was taken into custody in connection with the incident. He has been charged with mischief under $5,000 and has been released on an undertaking.
Israel’s Consul General Galit Baram called the painting of the steps an act of vandalism on Friday.
With files from Miriam Katawazi
