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A Toronto man accused of an antisemitic hate crimes spree that spanned more than eight months allegedly posted statements online encouraging attacks on the Jewish community in support of Palestinians.Amir Arvahi Azar, 32, who has been charged with 29 crimes including advocating genocide and inciting hate, allegedly used an X account that posted a call to “hunt down” Canadian Jews and have them “lynched.”“My brothers, it’s time to escalate like Amsterdam,” read a Nov. 9, 2024, post on the social media platform, an apparent reference to mob attacks on Israeli soccer fans in the Netherlands.“Hunt down every genocidal [J]ew and do to them what they approve of doing to Palestinians. Leave your phones at home, wear a mask, don’t wear clothing and shoes you’ve worn before.”Another post featured an emoji of the Palestinian flag and said to “treat every Zionist as a terrorist no matter their position in society. From police to politicians, from teachers to doctors.”“It’s our human right to do so.”The user also posted that “peaceful protests and dialogue” had failed to stop “occupation and genocide,” and “the next step” was to “escalate” to harassment, intimidation, property damage and assaults.The account has since been suspended for violating the platform’s rules, but Global News obtained screenshots from a source. Two sources said Azar has been accused of using the account. Neither Azar’s lawyer nor the Toronto Police Service would comment on the X account, where he is accused of posting the comments that led to charges of promoting genocide and hatred.They appeared online between Aug. 23 and Jan. 11, the day Azar was arrested for allegedly setting fires, smashing windows and leaving threats at Toronto synagogues and a Jewish-owned restaurant.Azar was later released on bail, a decision the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said was concerning given his long list of alleged crimes for hate-related incidents as well as possession of three loaded handguns.“This isn’t somebody who just happened upon a synagogue and decided, on a whim, to throw a rock through a window,” CIJA’s interim President Noah Shack told Global News in an interview.“This is somebody who has clearly, allegedly, taken time and was very deliberate in going from synagogue to synagogue, business to business, causing damage, lighting fires, uttering threats and seems to have been in possession of the means to make good on those threats,” he said.“And that’s a chilling thing for the community.”Toronto police announced on Monday that Azar had been charged with 19 hate crimes and 10 additional counts, notably possession of restricted .38 Special, Glock and Ruger handguns, ammunition, a switchblade, credit card forgery machine and criminal proceeds over $5,000.The incidents began on April 26, 2024.Among the alleged targets were signs outside synagogues with the Bring Them Home Now slogan that refers to hostages kidnapped and taken to Gaza during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel.Also torched was a Walk for Israel sign belonging to the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, which said the case “highlights the escalation of antisemitism and serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need to confront hate in all its forms.”Azar is further accused of leaving a threatening phone message at the Forest Hill Jewish Centre. The June 3, 2024, voicemail vowed to “get rid of you all,” Rabbi Elie Karfunkel told Global News.The rabbi said a police cruiser made a daily show of force outside the place of worship, and most congregants were unbowed, but such incidents “make people think twice about going to synagogue.”“We’re not changing, we’re doubling down in our Judaism,” he said. “But that’s me. What about my congregants that are nervous, they’re not as emboldened as me? Those are the people that I worry about.”Following two subsequent arson incidents on July 31, at a Jewish school and a synagogue, the Toronto police issued a news release alleging the suspect had fled on a dark motorcycle.B’nai Brith Canada said Azar’s arrest, together with a similar case in Winnipeg, underscored the “dangerous repercussions of the worsening crisis of antisemitism plaguing our country.”The group said it was grateful to police, “but the well-being and security of all Canadians cannot continue to be compromised by the inaction of our civic leaders and elected officials to adequately address the devolving situation.”The CIJA president said anti-Israel protests since the Hamas attack and Israel’s deadly reprisals in Gaza were “translating into the radicalization of individuals here in Canada.” Canada has seen a sharp spike in antisemitic incidents since the Middle East conflict flared, including shootings, arsons and vandalism at Jewish school buildings, synagogues, community organizations and businesses.In December 2023, the RCMP disrupted a suspected plot to bomb a pro-Israel rally on Parliament Hill, and a Toronto student was arrested in Quebec in September as he was allegedly on his way to conduct a mass shooting at a Brooklyn, N.Y., Jewish centre.“This is a public safety concern not just to the Jewish community but to our community more broadly. We have a serious challenge of radicalization and of terrorism here in Canada,” Shack said.“If we don’t all wake up to it, and we don’t all stand against it, and our authorities don’t treat it with the seriousness that it deserves, one of these days, one of these attacks will be successful.”CIJA said it was aware of the alleged social media posts and found them “absolutely alarming.”Several users pushed back against them at the time, calling them hate speech and tagging the Toronto police, RCMP and Canadian Security Intelligence Service in their replies.Advocating genocide charges are uncommon in Canada. Only four suspects were charged with the offence between 2018 and 2023, according to Statistics Canada data.Two of the cases were in Ontario, and the rest were in Quebec and British Columbia. One of the cases, filed in 2020, involved alleged online statements about former Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the Muslim community.A promoting genocide charge requires the approval of the Attorney General. Less than 10 per cent of Canada’s hate crime prosecutions involved that particular offence, said Prof. Sunil Gurmukh, Assistant Dean of the Western University’s law school.“In short, the answer to your question is they are rare,” he [email protected]
