A Jewish Canadian man was arrested for threatening Pro-Palestinian protesters with a nail gun at a protest in Vaughan on Sunday during a demonstration against an Israeli real estate event at the Aish Thornhill Community Shul.
Vaughan Police said that Ilan-Reuben Abramov, 27, stopped his vehicle near the demonstrators and began shouting obscenities at them. One of the protesters told the police that the suspect had at one point discharged the nail gun.
“Every f***ing Palestinian will die,” the man with the nail gun shouted, approaching the cameraman of the video posted by the Palesign group on Instagram. “You want to go, b***h?”
Abramov was arrested and charged with two counts of assault with a weapon, possession of a dangerous weapon, and mischief.
Bnai Brith Canada said on Monday that it condemned the assault and welcomed the arrest but said that police had failed to address another incident at the protest in which a masked anti-Israel female protester struck and pushed a police officer. The Jewish organization said that police initially moved to arrest her, but she was allowed to go when the crowd, chanting “let her go,” pulled her away and blocked police pursuit.
“We appreciate the police apprehending the man with the nail gun,” B’nai Brith Canada Director of Research and Advocacy Richard Robertson said. “But we call on them to thoroughly investigate Sunday’s incidents and follow up on the masked woman who pushed the officer, as well as those who obstructed her arrest.”
B’nai Brith also said on Sunday that protesters had chanted slogans such as “From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free,” and called for “Intifada.”
What event were Toronto protesters cheering against?
Activists were demonstrating against an Israeli real estate exposition that offered to explain listings from across Israel, including in towns and cities beyond the Green Line.
Pro-Palestinian protesters accused the event organizers of illegally selling Palestinian land. They argued that such action meant that the religious site was a legitimate protest site.
“Palestine is not for sale,” Palesign wrote on Instagram on Saturday.
Activists attempted to enter the synagogue after having signed up for the event but were rejected for wearing pro-Palestinian regalia. Organizers cursed the protesters attempting to enter, according to a Palesign video, leading them to level accusations of discrimination.
Robertson said on Sunday that nothing justified targeting a house of worship, and that “To target a shul is antisemitic and can never be tolerated in Canadian society.”
“Members of the Jewish community rightfully fear that their synagogues could become the sites of regular, hostile demonstrations, similar to the Avenue Road Overpass,” Robertson warned. “Today’s debauchery cannot become a precedent for other radicals to follow in Thornhill, Montreal, or anywhere else.”
Another real estate event is set to be held at the Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto on Thursday. Toronto pro-Palestinian organizations have issued calls to action for protests at the event.