Subject: Request for Legal Review: Anti-Zionist Rhetoric Promoting Hatred Against Israeli Nationals under Criminal Code Section 319(2)

Dear Attorney General / Crown Prosecutor, (Toronto Police, Hate Crimes Unit, A Jewish Advocacy Group or two, Ezra Levant, an Lgbtq+ advocacy group, etc)

I respectfully urge your Office to investigate whether widespread anti-Zionist rhetoric—including slogans such as “From the River to the Sea”—constitutes the willful promotion of hatred under section 319(2) of the Criminal Code, targeting Israelis as an identifiable group defined by nationality (see R. v. Keegstra, 3 S.C.R. 697).

Israel’s national identity protects approximately 9.6 million citizens of diverse backgrounds through shared citizenship, transcending ethnicity, religion, and orientation. Israeli nationals include:

Jews (74%): Mizrahi (45–50%), Ashkenazi (32–45%), Sephardic (10–15%)
Arabs (21%), Druze (2%)
Black Ethiopians/Africans (~2%), Circassians (0.03%)
Christians (Armenians, Assyrians, Arameans ~0.2–0.3%)
Bahá’í and Ahmadi (~0.1%), Kurds/Asians/others (~0.5%)
LGBTQ+ individuals (~8–11%, ~770,000–1,000,000 people), for whom Israel serves as a rare regional safe haven
These communities coexist under a democratic framework that ensures equality and personal security—protections that would be erased by calls to abolish the Israeli state.

By contrast, organizations such as Hamas, Hezbollah, and the IRGC—each designated as a terrorist entity—openly declare genocidal intent against Israelis and Jews, confirming that Israel’s national defence is not abstract ideology but a practical safeguard for millions of vulnerable civilians, including LGBTQ+ and minority groups.

In Canada, particularly in the GTA, mass protests have featured chants advocating the destruction of Israel’s statehood. Several of these events have escalated into physical clashes and vandalism of Jewish and Israeli institutions, demonstrating that such rhetoric fosters real-world hostility and fear within identifiable communities. This satisfies the wilful element of promoting hatred under section 319(2).

Comparable statutes abroad reinforce Canada’s responsibility to act:

United Kingdom: Public Order Act 1986 – criminalizes incitement of hatred based on nationality or ethnicity
France: Penal Code Article 24 – prohibits provocation to national hatred or violence
Germany: §130 – bans incitement against national groups
Australia: Racial Discrimination Act 1975 – prohibits vilification based on nationality
Consistent application of Canadian law would affirm that hate propaganda targeting Israeli nationality—like that directed at any protected group—is contrary to both the Charter and the public interest in preventing intercommunal violence.

Thank you for considering this matter of growing national concern.

Sincerely,