One IDF veteran guest speaker was wounded and five anti-Israel activists were arrested after anti-Israel activists allegedly stormed a building on Wednesday where a Toronto student group was hosting a lecture by IDF veterans.
Masked anti-Israel activists allegedly entered the private business where SSI Toronto Metropolitan University was holding its event, and broke a glass door that was being held shut by one of the veterans. According to SSI, the door was shattered using a drill bit, and in the process the veteran was cut by the glass. A participant said that the incident terrified the young students in attendance, who were told to hide to protect themselves. She also said that they had to barricade doors with chairs in an attempt to deny entry to the activists.
The veteran said that he was hit in the head as he tried to prevent the keffiyeh-clad activists from entering through the shattered door. Students for Justice in Palestine TMU claimed in a Wednesday Instagram statement that the veteran had grabbed, pushed, and chased the activists.
The SJP chapter also claimed that when law enforcement arrived, they shoved and hit protesters outside the building with batons, before following them into a subway station to pin them to the ground and arrest them.
The Toronto Police Service said that it had arrested and charged five people for forcible entry, and that one of the suspects assaulted an officer in an attempt to prevent an arrest.
Oakville resident Nicole Baiton, Toronto resident Kiana Alexis, and Toronto resident Fatimah Mugni were charged with forcible entry and unlawful assembly. The 25-year-old Baiton and 22-year-old Alexis were also charged alongside Toronto resident Manal Kamran for obstruction of an officer. Toronto resident Chelsea Wu was charged for assaulting and obstructing an officer.
The wounded IDF veteran was taken to the hospital for treatment, tetanus shots, and stitches -- but one participant claimed that protesters followed them to the medical facility.
TMU SSI president Liat Schwartz said that she was horrified by the incident, which she explained was "not protest" but "intimidation and violence."
"This was not protest — it was intimidation and violence. No student should fear for their safety on campus for expressing their beliefs or identity, said Schwartz. "I am genuinely scared for the future of TMU if this kind of hate and aggression continues to go unchecked."
Schwatz called on the TMU administration to take action to ensure that Jewish and Israeli students would be protected and treated equally on campus.
TMU 'concerned,' reviewing policies after violent incident
TMU said that it was concerned by the off-campus incident and was reviewing its policies to determine what action could be taken.
"TMU condemns any acts of aggression, intimidation, or violence and our thoughts are with any students who may have been injured during the incident," said the university.
SSI founder Ilan Sinelnikov said that the event had been moved to a nearby private venue after being denied a room on campus.
"What happened at Toronto today with the attack on our students, our speakers and a local business is the textbook definition of terrorism," said Sinelnikov. "This is not in Gaza or Europe. This is happening in North America. To say Jewish students, Zionist students are not at risk would be a lie. The universities and their administration, the local leaders, were fulfilling this for years and we can’t wait for them to wake up if a bigger tragedy is going to happen. The terrorists in Toronto must be arrested and held accountable to the full extent of the law."
The event was part of a broader Ontario college tour, giving students the opportunity to hear from an American-Israeli about life in Israel since the October 7 Massacre.
Students for Justice in Palestine TMU had called for an "emergency rally" to prevent the hosting of "Zionist murderers" at SSI TMU's "Combat on College" event.
"Our administrations refuse to take action," read an Instagram post by SJP TMU just before the incident. "War criminals will never be welcome in our communities."
In its later statement, SJP said that protecting "foreign genocidal soldiers" by "attacking Canadian students" made the "state of so-called 'Canada'" complicit in supposed Israeli crimes. SJP said that it would not be deterred by the arrests, and would "continue to put our bodies on the line to confront the Zionist regime's crimes and our institutions' complicity."
"We will continue shutting down any attempt to platform genocidal propaganda," said SJP TMU. "Until liberation and return, long live the student intifada."