IDF International Delicatessen Foods
On January 3, 2024, the Toronto Police Service issued the following statement:
The Toronto Police Service is making the public aware of a suspected hate-motivated arson and graffiti investigation, targeting a local business.
On Wednesday January 3, 2024, at approximately 6:00 a.m., officers were called to the area of Steeles Avenue and Petrolia Road for reports of a fire inside a store.
The fire was extinguished by Toronto Fire. Officers also located graffiti on the outside of the building.
The Toronto Police Hate Crime Unit is investigating this incident as a suspected hate-motivated crime.
“This isn’t lawful protest protected by Constitutional rights. It’s criminal. It’s violent, targeted and organized. We’ll use all resources available to investigate, arrest and prosecute those who are responsible for this,” said Staff Supt Pauline Gray, Detective Operations.
This investigation will be conducted in consultation with the Ministry of the Attorney General and with the assistance of the Ontario Fire Marshal’s Office.
CBC reported:
Toronto police say its hate crime unit is investigating a fire at a Jewish-owned grocery store that was also spray-painted with the words “Free Palestine.”
Police say the fire is being probed as suspected hate-motivated arson. The graffiti is being probed as a possible hate crime.
Staff Supt. Pauline Gray, spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service, told reporters on Wednesday that International Delicatessen Foods, on Steeles Avenue West near Petrolia Road, was targeted.
“I’ve been a criminal investigator the vast majority of my career, and in most of those criminal investigations, there was a tipping point. This is this tipping point,” Gray said near the scene.
“This is not graffiti on a bus shelter. This is not lawful protest protected by constitutional right. This is a criminal act. It is violent, it is targeted, it is organized, and it will receive the weight of the Toronto Police Service to exactly what it deserves,” she added.
“We will leave no stone unturned. We will use all the resources available to us to investigate, arrest and prosecute who is responsible for this.”
Earlier on Wednesday, the owner of the business confirmed to CBC Toronto that he is Jewish and said he believes the vandalism is an act of antisemitism.
The business’s name is displayed as the acronym “IDF” in large red letters above the building’s entrance. IDF is also the acronym for Israel Defence Forces, who are currently waging war in the Gaza Strip.
The business had its windows broken in the incident, but no one was reported to be injured.
According to officials, police and firefighters were called to the scene at about 6:00 a.m. on Wednesday. When firefighters arrived, they saw smoke coming from the rear. Fire crews entered the building and quickly extinguished the blaze.
Gray said officers found the graffiti on the outside of the building at the same time that the fire was discovered. She said investigators have recovered some evidence from the roof and the roof is part of the investigation.
She said police suspect the incident was motivated by hate and believe it was committed “with bias or prejudice.”
“We’re very early on in the investigation and I must highlight when I say it’s organized, they didn’t just happen upon this business. Let’s be not silly here. These people have targeted this business and so that means they’ve been here before,” she said.
Indigo
Toronto Police’s press release on November 23, 2023:
At a media conference at police headquarters on November 23, Intelligence Services Superintendent Katherine Stephenson said the additional resources dedicated to the Hate Crime Unit assist with the investigating of hate-motivated occurrences and help the unit expand its outreach to the community…
Stephenson said the Hate Crime Team is continuing to investigate the 78 hate crimes that have reported since October 7 and to arrest and lay charges where appropriate.
This includes 11 recent arrests made in relation to the hate-motivated mischief investigation at the Indigo Store on Bay Street on November 10.
Posters were glued to the doors and windows of the business and red paint poured on the windows and sidewalk. An individual arrested four days later was charged with Mischief Over $5,000.
“The subsequent investigation by the Hate Crime Unit led to search warrants being executed on a number of residences and vehicles in Toronto yesterday, leading to the arrest of an additional 10 individuals who have been charged with Mischief Over $5,000 and Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence,” said Stephenson.
Toronto Police’s press release on November 23, 2023:
The Toronto Police Service Hate Crime Unit is making the public aware of eleven arrests made in a hate-motivated Mischief Over $5000 investigation.
On Friday, November 10, 2023, at approximately 4:15 a.m., police responded to a call for Mischief in the Bay Street and Bloor Street West area.
It is alleged that:
a group of suspects approached a book store at the corner of Bay Street and Bloor Street West
the suspects proceeded to glue posters to the doors and windows of the business
the suspects then poured red paint on the windows and sidewalk
On Tuesday, November 14, 2023, Nisha Toomey, 41, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with:
Mischief Over $5000
She is scheduled to appear in court at the Ontario Court of Justice on Monday, January 8, 2024, at 2 p.m., in room 202.
Subsequent investigation by the Hate Crime Unit led to the execution of search warrants on residences and vehicles in Toronto. On Wednesday, November 22, 2023, ten additional suspects were arrested and charged.
Sharmeen Khan, 45, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with:
Mischief Over $5000
Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence
They are scheduled to appear in court at the Ontario Court of Justice on Thursday, January 18, 2024, at 2 p.m., in room 202.
MacDonald Scott, 56, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with:
Mischief Over $5000
Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence
They are scheduled to appear in court at the Ontario Court of Justice on Friday, January 19, 2024, at 2 p.m., in room 202.
Mercedes Lee, 44, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with:
Mischief Over $5000
Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence
They are scheduled to appear in court at the Ontario Court of Justice on Thursday, January 18, 2024, at 2 p.m., in room 202.
Suzanne Narain, 38, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with:
Mischief Over $5000
Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence
They are scheduled to appear in court at the Ontario Court of Justice on Monday, January 15, 2024, at 2 p.m., in room 202.
Lesley Wood, 56, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with:
Mischief Over $5000
Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence
They are scheduled to appear in court at the Ontario Court of Justice on Friday, January 19, 2024, at 2 p.m., in room 202.
Sarom Rho, 29, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with:
Mischief Over $5000
Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence
They are scheduled to appear in court at the Ontario Court of Justice on Monday, January 15, 2024, at 2 p.m., in room 202.
Ian Doty, 43, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with:
Mischief Over $5000
Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence
They are scheduled to appear in court at the Ontario Court of Justice on Wednesday, January 17, 2024, at 2 p.m., in room 202.
Stuart Schussler, 39, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with:
Mischief Over $5000
Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence
They are scheduled to appear in court at the Ontario Court of Justice on Friday, January 5, 2024, at 2 p.m., in room 202.
Karl Sebastian Gardner, 33, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with:
Mischief Over $5000
Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence
They are scheduled to appear in court at the Ontario Court of Justice on Wednesday, January 10, 2024, at 2 p.m., in room 202.
Clement Cheng, 26, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with:
Mischief Over $5000
Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence
They are scheduled to appear in court at the Ontario Court of Justice on Wednesday, January 10, 2024, at 2 p.m., in room 202.
The investigation remains ongoing and is being treated as a suspected hate-motivated offence.
Toronto Police’s press release on November 30, 2023:
The Toronto Police Service is making the public aware of additional charges laid in a suspected hate-motivated Mischief Over $5000 investigation.
On Friday, November 10, 2023, at approximately 4:15 a.m., police responded to a call for Mischief in the Bay Street and Bloor Street West area.
It is alleged that:
a group of suspects approached a book store at the corner of Bay Street and Bloor Street West
the suspects proceeded to glue posters to the doors and windows of the business
the suspects then poured red paint on the windows and sidewalk
On Tuesday, November 14, 2023, Nisha Toomey, 41, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with:
Mischief Over $5000
Subsequent investigation by the Hate Crime Unit led to the execution of search warrants on residences and vehicles in Toronto. On Wednesday, November 22, 2023, ten additional suspects were arrested and charged with:
Mischief Over $5000
Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence
See previous release.
It is further alleged that:
the accused parties engaged in threatening conduct that caused a person to reasonably fear for their personal safety
On Thursday, November 30, 2023, the eleven accused were additionally charged with:
Criminal Harassment
In addition to Criminal Harassment, Nisha Toomey, 41, of Toronto, has also been charged with:
Conspiracy to Commit an Indictable Offence
The investigation remains ongoing and is being treated as a suspected hate-motivated offence.
Cafe Landwer
CP24 reported on October 23, 2023:
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow condemned a protest outside of a Jewish-owned business in Toronto over the weekend, alongside public officials who called it an “appalling” and “reprehensible” act of antisemitism.
Videos posted online Saturday show hundreds of protesters waving Palestinian flags outside of Cafe Landwer at University Avenue and Adelaide Street while chanting “boycott.”
“Targeting a business in this way is wrong. There is no place in our city for antisemitism, Islamophobia, hate, intimidation and harassment of any kind,” Chow said in a social media post on Monday…
One of the videos posted to Instagram was paired with the caption “zionist cafe boycott” and showed one participant waving a flag in the window of the restaurant as patrons sit at a booth eating a meal.