March 4, 2025
TORONTO – B’nai Brith Canada is urging major municipalities across the country to ban Al Quds Day, an annual anti-Jewish hatefest that falls on March 28, 2025.
Al-Quds Day was first popularized in 1979 by then-Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Khomeini. With its distinct antisemitic themes, the Day of Hate embodies the regime’s obsessive hatred for Israel, Jews and Western civilization.
Since the 1980s, the Islamic Republic’s supporters have used Al Quds Day to radicalize Western audiences. During the past few years, large demonstrations have become commonplace in Canadian cities such as Toronto, Montreal, Calgary and Vancouver. These tend to feature speakers who glorify terrorist groups such as the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). The Vancouver-based organization Samidoun, which the Federal Government recently declared a terrorist entity, has historically played a central role in Al-Quds Day rallies across the country.
“B’nai Brith Canada has for years warned that Al-Quds Day is a conduit for incitement and antisemitism,” said Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s Director of Research and Advocacy. “Since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attacks, which contributed to a rapid rise in antisemitic incidents in Canada, virtually every day has felt as if it were Al-Quds Day. It is appalling that this disgusting Day of Hate is still tolerated in this country.”
The City of Toronto has already declined, inexplicably, to take any action to suspend Al-Quds Day. In response, B’nai Brith Canada is launching a letter-writing campaign to demand that Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante, Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek, and Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim ban the hatefest from happening in their cities this year.
“Our leaders’ inability to crack down on this hatefest, year after year, raises the question of whether Canadian values remain a priority,” Robertson said. “Since Oct. 7, 2023, Canada has finally started taking decisive action against Iranian influence by listing its Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and proxies like the Houthis as terrorist groups. Permitting Al Quds Day to go on is at odds with these decisions and undermines efforts to counteract foreign influence.”
