Hate-Motivated Arson Targets Christian Ally of Toronto’s Jewish Community on October 7 Anniversary

Toronto, ON—October 7, 2026—The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and UJA Federation of Greater Toronto issued the following joint statement today in response to a hate-motivated arson attack targeting Israeli flags at Faith International Christian Centre in North York, on the third anniversary of the October 7 terrorist attacks in Israel:

"Today, on the third anniversary of October 7—the deadliest day for the Jewish people since the Holocaust—Toronto’s Jewish community woke up to news that Israeli flags had been burned in a hate-motivated arson attack at a Christian institution.

"Faith International Christian Centre has stood with the Jewish community and with Israel. To see that solidarity answered with fire is a disturbing reminder that hatred does not stop with Jews. Increasingly, those who stand beside us are being targeted too.

"Burning Israeli flags outside a church is not simply an act of property destruction. It is an attack on people who had the courage to stand with their Jewish neighbours, and it reflects the broader radicalization Canada’s security agencies have repeatedly warned about — where lies, conspiracy theories, and hatred directed at Jews and Israelis can escalate into intimidation, violence, and terror.

"We are deeply grateful to the Faith International Christian Centre and congregation for their friendship and solidarity, especially at a time when standing with the Jewish community can itself make people a target.

"Today should be a day of remembrance — for the nearly 1,200 people murdered on October 7, 2023, for those taken hostage, and for the families and communities forever changed by that day. Instead, here in Toronto, we are once again confronting hatred directed not only at Jews, but at those who refuse to abandon us.

"That should alarm every Canadian. When simply standing with the Jewish community carries a cost—when allies are intimidated, threatened, or attacked because they refuse to turn away—this is no longer only a Jewish problem. It is a threat to the kind of country we all want Canada to be.

"We call on leaders at every level of government to condemn this attack unequivocally, to recognize the growing cost being imposed on those who stand with the Jewish community, and to confront the extremism that is making intimidation and violence increasingly commonplace."

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