Pro-Palestinian Protestors Interupt Private TMU Event Involving IDF Soldiers
Photo Credit: Michael Wilson/CBC
On Nov. 5, pro-Palestinian protestors interrupted a private event involving former members of the Israeli Defence Force (IDF), held by a Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) student organization called Students Supporting Israel (SSI).
Six protesters now face multiple charges on account of forced entry and assault. They are set to make appearances in court in January 2026.
The event itself was part of a larger tour titled Triggered: From Combat to Campus, primarily sponsored by the SSI. It was held in a rentable space along Elm and Bay street, not far from the TMU campus. According to The Varsity, videos show two protestors entering the building through open doors as the event was being set up at around 1:00 PM.
The protestors were quickly contained, as an IDF member held the door closed to one of the rooms, keeping the protesters in. An instant later, glass shattered inward, and the IDF member began to remove the protestors from the premises.
The police were called around 1:15 PM. Following the incident, the Toronto Police Service alleged that demonstrators from the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) obstructed the officers as they attempted to make an arrest. Additionally, the SJP shared in a social media statement that police followed students to a subway station and arrested them.
After the event, the SSI wrote in an Instagram caption that their “peaceful event was violently attacked […] We were targeted simply for being Jewish and tried to have an open conversation.”
The university was quick to release a statement, sharing "TMU condemns acts of aggression, intimidation, or violence.”
The confrontation has raised questions about the limits of protests as well as the IDF’s involvement with the university.
A student organizer named Julia called for action at a press conference held on Nov. 7 at the TMU campus, sharing that they “demand Canadian academic institutions to prohibit foreign military delegations from visiting campus, being hosted by university-sponsored clubs or attending the institution as either a student or faculty.”
Additionally, Heather McPhearson, an NDP MP, shared in a statement released on Nov. 9 that IDF soldiers entering Canada are subject to the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act and can be investigated under the law. Should an individual be found guilty of any of these claims, the government withholds the right to prosecute. The MP received some backlash, particularly from the SSI, with their leader, IIan Sinelnikov, responding that Canada is a free country and they would “keep bringing IDF soldiers there, and for her campaign – we are happy to send speakers from Hamas to her office,” according to the Jerusalem Times.