When the Police Get It Right
- Mark Sandler
- Jun 11
- 4 min read
This past Sunday, over 60,000 members of our community and allies participated in the Walk with Israel. An unprecedented number of officers from Toronto Police Service and multiple other services kept us all safe and equally important, established protest zones that prevented a reoccurrence of past situations where participants, including families and children, were forced to navigate through a gauntlet of hateful rhetoric. The operational policing plan was thorough and implemented well, and in a manner consistent with Charter protections. The event was not impeded by protesters, with criminal arrests made where circumstances required and generally without disrupting the march. These arrests are summarized below.
This admirable policing approach has been coupled with the work being done by the recently created TPS Counter-Terrorism Security Unit, arrests in some of the more notorious shooting cases targeting our community and enhanced use of existing criminal law measures, as we have proposed, including public incitement and wilful promotion of hatred charges, unlawful assembly, mischief and disguise with intent to commit indictable offences.
There is much yet to be done, particularly in police recognizing when speech that deliberately avoids use of the word "Jew" nonetheless incites hatred against Jews and Israelis. The line between criticizing Israel, its government and conduct, on the one hand, and demonizing all Zionists as terrorists, or evil, genocidal and racist and/or promoting the activities of designated terrorist entities, on the other hand, remains poorly understood. We are working on it.
We have pointed out – at times, strongly – deficiencies in enforcement and prosecution. We have advocated for change and led education and training to promote improvement. So, it is fitting to acknowledge when police do the right thing.
The 6 Arrests Associated with the Walk with Israel
As indicated, the police created a designated protest zone on Sheppard Avenue, east of Bathurst, to create some distance between participants on the walk and protesters. Some protesters, however, attempted to agitate participants and engaged with police.
1. John Eusebio, 35, of Toronto, was charged with:
Assault Peace Officer
The allegations are that Eusebio, along with a group of protesters, left the designated protest area and attended Bathurst Street near the entrance to Earl Bales Park. He was directed by police to clear the walk route and return towards Earl Bales Park, but he refused to comply and then spat on officers after a verbal altercation.
He is scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice, 10 Armoury Street, on August 12, 2026, at 02:00 p.m., in courtroom 202.
2. Ghada Hamouda, 60, of Toronto, was charged with:
Obstruct Peace Officer
The allegations are that Hamouda was outside the designated protest zone and was directed by police to clear the walk route and move to the designated area. She refused to comply with multiple lawful directions from officers on scene.
She is scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice, 10 Armoury Street, on August 12, 2026, at 2:00 p.m., in courtroom 202.
3. Diana Bosco, 39, of Toronto, was charged with:
Obstruct Peace Officer
The allegations are that Bosco, along with a group of protesters, left the designated protest area and moved to the entrance of Earl Bales Park where she was observed attempting to provoke participants in the walk. She was directed by police to clear the walk route and return to the designated protest area but refused to comply with multiple lawful directions from officers on scene.
She is scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice, 10 Armoury Street, on August 12, 2026, at 02:00 p.m., in courtroom 202.
4. Ali Reza Hojjati, 40, of Richmond Hill, was charged with:
Assault
The allegations are that Hojjati attended the walk and became involved in a verbal argument with a protester. During the argument, he spat towards the protester and their sign.
He is scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice, 10 Armoury Street, on September 2, 2026, at 02:00 p.m., in courtroom 203.
5. A woman was arrested for Breach of the Peace and later released without charges.
The allegations are that she began to agitate participants while displaying signage that read "Death to Israel" in Farsi. She walked back and forth along the walk route while displaying the sign, taunting attendees which escalated tensions and led to a verbal confrontation between walk participants and protesters. The arrest undoubtedly de-escalated the immediate situation. However, it is well arguable that “Death to Israel” incites hatred against all Israelis, a protected identifiable group under the Criminal Code and cannot be characterized as mere criticism of Israel.
6. A man was investigated for operating a Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (drone) and was issued a ticket under Canadian aviation regulations.
The arrests and enforcement actions reflect a more proactive policing approach than in previous years, with officers intervening when individuals left designated protest areas or engaged in conduct that allegedly disrupted public order.
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About the Author
Mark Sandler, LL.B., LL.D. (honoris causa), ALCCA’s Chair, is widely recognized as one of Canada’s leading criminal lawyers and pro bono advocates. He has been involved in combatting antisemitism for over 40 years. He has lectured extensively on legal remedies to combat hate and has promoted respectful Muslim-Jewish, Sikh-Jewish and Black-Jewish dialogues. He has appeared before Parliamentary committees and in the Supreme Court of Canada on multiple occasions on issues relating to antisemitism and hate activities. He is a former member of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, a three-time elected Bencher of the Law Society of Ontario, and recipient of the criminal profession’s highest honour, the G. Arthur Martin Medal, for his contributions to the administration of criminal justice.
ALCCA's Senior Counsel, Rochelle Direnfeld, contributed to this report.