Over the weekend, as has often been the case, anti-Israel protesters marched through a Jewish neighbourhood in Toronto. Donning masks and some wearing camouflage, the group was confronted by some residents in the area and told they weren't welcome.

The incident is just the latest in Toronto, which has seen a wave of antisemitic attacks against Jewish businesses, schools and synagogues since the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack against Israel.

On Monday, the Palestinian flag was raised during an event at city hall. Mayor Olivia Chow asserted Prime Minister Mark Carney's public recognition of a Palestinian state meant the city's policies allowed for such an event.

Ezra Levant, condemning both, reacted to the weekend's protest and flag raising on Monday's Rebel Roundup livestream.

The flag raising was that of a country “not recognized by the United Nations,” a country without a Canadian diplomatic envoy, Ezra said. “If I asked you who is the leader of that country and what it's constitution is,” you would be unable to answer it, he continued, pointing out the lack of defined borders or even a national capital.

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“Mark Carney said, 'I recognize that you're a country,' so now Palestinian activists across the country said OK, we're going to raise the flag on Canadian property,” stated Ezra. “How gross is that.”

The protests in Jewish neighbourhoods have occurred “two weekends in a row now, with the complete approval of the police,” the host said. “It's not an Israeli embassy there; there's no emanations of the Israeli state. They're just Jews,” he said, telling viewers “don't for a second think that these protesters are about something as specific as a free Palestine.”

However, Ezra acknowledged his position is “slightly nuanced” on the matter.

“On the one hand, a public sidewalk is a public sidewalk, and if someone has a peaceful message — as in they're not threatening, they're not harassing — then I really can't argue against that,” he said.

“Although, these are not citizens to me, and I think people who are here as guests on certain terms — they're here as temporary foreign workers, they're students or they're applying for citizenship — if they engage in antisemitic conduct designed to terrify locals, they should just be kicked out,” he said.

If the demonstration was an event organized by white Canadians against a Muslim neighbourhood, “would the police stand by and let it happen? I'm not so sure,” Ezra speculated.

Addressing the protests that have continued since the Oct. 7 attack, Ezra said “when you let something go on that long, you very clearly signal you condone it, tolerate it. That's the new normal, the Overton window has shifted. Something that would have been scandalous two years ago is now conventional wisdom.”