Toronto police department slams criticism of pro-Hamas demonstrations as ‘Islamophobic’

Police spokesman castigate critics of anti-Israel rallies who described events as ‘pro-Hamas,’ claim October 7^th invasion led many Canadians to convert to Islam.

By World Israel News Staff

The Toronto police department apologized Tuesday after two of its spokesmen made controversial comments on an official police podcast earlier this week regarding the impact of the October 7^th invasion of Israel, and defended anti-Israel rallies in the wake of the Hamas invasion.

This Monday, two spokesmen for the Toronto Police Service – Farhan Ali and Haroon Siddiqui – spoke on an episode of the weekly TPS podcast “Project Olive Branch.”

In the episode, which was released via Instagram, Ali and Siddiqui took aim at the critics of anti-Israel rallies held in Canada following the October 7^th massacres, accusing those who described the demonstrations as being “pro-Hamas” of Islamophobia.

“When someone is calling a Palestinian rally a ‘Hamas rally,’ then all of a sudden people start getting afraid, and they think ‘Oh wow these are people supporting an entity that’s been labeled as a terrorist organization,’ but the people that are protesting are there for another cause altogether.”

Siddiqui also appeared to speak favorably of the reaction many had to the October 7^th invasion and subsequent war in Gaza, claiming that it inspired many people to convert to Islam.

“Through social media, a lot of people, after October 7, started learning about Islam, and they said what is it with the religion that it is so hated, you know what I mean why are they being attacked all the time?”

“There have been a lot of reverts through this whole process,” Siddiqui continued, using the term “revert,” which is favored by some Muslims who believe all souls are intrinsically linked to Islam – even if the person is raised in another faith.

“The amount of people reverting to Islam is unbelievable, and I guess through education they’re educating themselves, and saying ‘what [sic] is it that Muslims are being targeted, and why are they being targeted?’ Let me learn about this religion, what are these accusations that they are saying.”

The Toronto Police Service retracted the podcast a day later, erasing it from the department’s Instagram page.

On Tuesday, the TPS issued an apology.

“We acknowledge that a recent episode of our podcast, Project Olive Branch, has caused significant upset and concern in the Jewish community and beyond,” police said via the department’s X account.

“That was not our intention and we apologize. The podcast has been removed.”

“We recognize the Jewish community’s profound pain and anguish as a result of October 7th and the ensuing rise of antisemitism,” said Police Chief Myron Demkiw. “I have personally heard from the community about the impact of this podcast, and I’m truly sorry. Our commitment to protecting our Jewish communities remains unwavering.”