Two Jewish safety patrols called JForce and Magen Herut Canada have been brought in to protect Jewish students at the University of Toronto, according to multiple social media posts and Canadian Jewish News (CJN).
Videos circulating on X/Twitter show four men wearing what appear to be protective gear with a JForce logo. The woman recording refers to them as a "vigilante group," however, social media users have said the patrol was brought in to protect Jewish students from pro-Palestine protesters and encampments, which have led to assaults and harassment.
During a pro-Palestine protest on Friday, safety patrol teams were sent to accompany Jewish students through UoT's campus, according to CJN. The patrol was run by a volunteer team called Magen Herut Canada.
Apparently, a Jewish safety patrol called Jforce has shown up at the University of Toronto.Their goal is to protect Jewish students from insane pro-Hamas encampments, harassment and assaults like we saw earlier in the spring.This is making them so mad lol. pic.twitter.com/fCWj34JoZZ
— ♛ ✡︎ (@NiohBerg) September 7, 2024
Aaron Hadida, the founder of Magen Herut, said “We’re just here to maintain as much order as we can and make sure the Jewish community is safe."
Hadida, alongside other volunteer team members, wore black shirts with the words “Surveillance team” on the back and situated themselves at the entrance to the campus along with a team of Toronto police officers.
Hadida, who is trained in multiple combat and martial arts, began recruiting volunteers for his patrol team following the October 7 massacre, which triggered a worldwide uptick in antisemitic incidents, including in Toronto.
Antisemitic incidents in Canada
In the last week of August, over 100 Jewish institutions, synagogues, and hospitals across Canada were targeted with a mass email bomb threat on early Wednesday morning, according to Canadian police, politicians, and Jewish institutions.
In the months following October 7, Hadida's team started arriving at community events and explained how they "started letting the Jewish community know that we’re up and running."
Worried parents of university students now ring him for advice and help, he told CJN.
“They’re constantly worried about their kids on campus,” he said. “We decided that we’re going to be a visible presence on university campuses this year, that Jewish students who [go] to class [are] going to know that, no matter what, somebody [is] outside keeping an eye on them.”
A volunteer at Magen Herut Canada - Tochi Osuji - said he felt the police were limited in how much help they could provide on campus.
“It doesn’t require you to be Jewish to see what’s going on,” he said to CJN. “It’s shocking to see that the administrations have been really slow to respond and a lot of times complicit.”
Osuji is not Jewish but was motivated to get involved after witnessing an elderly Jewish man be assaulted during a pro-Israel rally.
“We’re not here to fight people,” Osuji said, "We’re here to protect. If we see kids attacked, that might play out a little differently. But I feel like it’s just our physical presence that changes the dynamic.”
An Instagram account called The Bear Jew, which appears to be run by one of the founders of Magen Herut, posted two weeks ago "We launched our Magen Herut Canada Community Surveillance team in Toronto with the one and only @melissalantsman who is a true warrior on her own. Contact us for any events or Functions in the community."
Lantsman is the first openly gay and first Jewish woman ever to be elected as a Conservative MP according to Canadian news sites.
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JForce Security Inc., a registered security agency, also sent a team to the Friday rally. The website of JForce says their team provides event security, neighborhood patrols and private investigations, among other services.
At the Friday protest, the members were approached by two older women who wanted to be accompanied on their walk to the station.
“They said they felt unsafe, and they just wanted an escort to get to where they’re going,” a member of JForce, who wished to remain anonymous, said to CJN.
Canadian Jewish students speak out
An Ontario judge ordered the disbandment of the camp set up by pro-Palestinian protesters at the university in July, following two months of encampment.
Two Jewish students wrote separately in The Post over the last year to speak of hateful rhetoric and dehumanization of Jewish students at the Toronto Metropolitan University. One said she did not feel safe "walking through the halls or attending classes, including the conflicting decision of whether to wear [her] Star of David or Hamsa in public."