Toronto mayor condemns pro-Palestinian protest that 'targeted' Jewish-owned restaurant
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow condemned a protest outside of a Jewish-owned business in Toronto over the weekend, alongside public officials who called it an “appalling” and “reprehensible” act of antisemitism.
Videos posted online Saturday show hundreds of protesters waving Palestinian flags outside of Cafe Landwer at University Avenue and Adelaide Street while chanting “boycott.”
Protesters wave Palestinian flags outside of Cafe Landwer at University Avenue and Adelaide Street in Toronto Saturday, Oct. 21, 2023.
“Targeting a business in this way is wrong. There is no place in our city for antisemitism, Islamophobia, hate, intimidation and harassment of any kind,” Chow said in a social media post on Monday.
Cafe Landwer, which has six locations in Toronto, said in a statement to CTV News Toronto on Monday that its primary focus is the safety of employees and patrons, along with upholding an “inclusive atmosphere that embraces individuals from diverse backgrounds.”
The video surfaced after demonstrators marched in a pro-Palestinian rally through downtown Toronto on Saturday as the Israel-Hamas war entered its second week.
One of the videos posted to Instagram was paired with the caption “zionist cafe boycott” and showed one participant waving a flag in the window of the restaurant as patrons sit at a booth eating a meal.
“I urge everyone in our city, through all the pain and anger so many are feeling right now, not to lose sight of our common humanity,” Chow said, pointing to the city’s recent increase in hate incidents. Since the war began with Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, the daily average of hate-related police calls in Toronto has increased by 132 per cent, Toronto's police chief said last week.
Toronto police said there were no arrests at the protest.
The restaurant targeted, Cafe Landwer, was “singled-out” for the fact that it is Jewish-owned, MP Kevin Vuong told CP24.
Moshe Landwer originally opened the coffee shop in Berlin in 1919, and moved it to Tel Aviv a decade later to escape the Nazi regime, according to the restaurant’s website.
“That’s not just. That’s not right. It’s an indefensible act of antisemitism and anti-hatred and it must be condemned,” Vuong told CP24 on Sunday.
He called the protest a “slippery slope” that will propagate hate if it is not stopped.
City councillors Josh Matlow and Brad Bradford also condemned the incident.
Matlow said he hopes everyone – no matter their politics or ideology – can agree that harassing a Jewish business and justifying Hamas’ terror attacks is “fundamentally wrong,” while Bradford called the rally “appalling” and “reprehensible.”
“We must stand with the Jewish community in the face of this reprehensible antisemitism,” he wrote on social media. “A commitment was made to ensure the community feels safe. Now is the time for action, not words.”
CP24 and CTV News Toronto reached out to the restaurant for comment but has not recieved a response.
Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by the Canadian government.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
![](https://www.ctvnews.ca/polopoly_fs/1.6978861.1722008569!/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_800/image.jpg)
At least 4 buildings burned at Jasper Park Lodge, others damaged: Fairmont memo
The Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge said Thursday afternoon most of its structures are 'standing and intact,' including its iconic main lodge.
Major Canadian bank experiences direct deposit outage on payday
Scotiabank says it has fixed a technical issue that impacted direct deposits on Friday morning.
'He was just gone': Police ramp up search for vulnerable 3-year-old boy in Mississauga, Ont.
Police in Mississauga are conducting a full-scale search of the city’s biggest park for a non-verbal toddler who went missing Thursday evening. Sgt. Jennifer Trimble told reporters Friday morning that there has been no trace of three-year-old Zaid Abdullah since 6:20 p.m., when he was last seen with his parents in Erindale Park, near Dundas Street West and Mississauga Road.
Sask. appeal court says anti-trans group cannot join constitutional dispute over pronoun law
Saskatchewan’s Court of Appeal has denied a political group that opposes so-called “gender ideology” intervener status in a legal dispute over the province’s controversial pronoun law.
B.C.'s top doctor ends four-year COVID-19 public health emergency
After four years of mask mandates, gathering restrictions, vaccinations and hospitalizations, British Columbia’s provincial health officer has ended the province's public-health emergency for COVID-19.
Driver charged after flashing high beams at approaching police
Orillia OPP arrested and charged a driver with impaired driving after flashing their high beams.
Powerful cartel leader 'El Mayo' Zambada was lured onto airplane before arrest in U.S., AP source says
A powerful Mexican drug cartel leader who eluded authorities for decades was duped into flying into the U.S., where he was arrested alongside a son of Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman, according to a U.S. law enforcement official familiar with the matter.
Elon Musk's estranged daughter calls out his 'entirely fake' claims about her childhood
Vivian Jenna Wilson, Elon Musk's estranged daughter, publicly refuted several recent anti-trans statements her Tesla CEO and X owner father has made about her.
What we know about 'malicious' attack on French train network ahead of Olympics opening
French transport was thrust into chaos Friday just hours ahead of the Olympics 2024 opening ceremony after a series of co-ordinated 'malicious acts' upended high-speed train lines.Here's what happened and what we know so far.