For about 12 years, the City of Toronto has displayed Israel’s flag each spring on a ceremonial courtesy pole to mark the Jewish State’s Independence Day. The annual event has drawn little attention in the past—until the Oct. 7 war reshaped the context, leading to protests spilling onto local streets.
Separately, last fall, Tafsik—the Jewish advocacy group—sought to block what would have been the first Palestinian flag raising at Toronto City Hall. Their court challenge failed, but the escalating tensions prompted City Council, including Mayor Olivia Chow, to vote on March 26 to end all foreign flag raisings as of Dec. 1, 2026, in hopes of “lowering the temperature.” Chow had previously called the Israeli flag ceremony “divisive.”
Toronto now joins other municipalities stepping back from the practice, including Calgary and most recently Mississauga, where a sudden ban adopted over Passover cancelled the scheduled Israeli flag raising there this week.
For this episode of The CJN’s North Star, host Ellin Bessner went to what may be the City of Toronto’s final Israel flag ceremony—one marked by defiance, sadness, and a surprising absence of protesters.
Rafi Yablonsky, of The Canadian Shaare Zedek Hospital Foundation, and event planner Sharleen Wilder, sported Israeli flag accessories to attend the April 22 event at Toronto City Hall. (Photo by Ellin Bessner/The CJN)
Related stories
Opinion: Are Israeli flag raisings in Canada good or bad for the Jewish community, on The CJN’s Not In Heaven podcast.Tensions over Palestinian flag raising last November at Toronto City Hall, in The CJN .Check out the list of flags raised at the City of Toronto courtesy flagpole in 2026. Israel was the last one, so far.
Transcript:
City Hall Staffer: Yes, you would need a wristband.
See you up there.
Our colleague Hakim is there to show the way how to get up the hall through the doors and elevator.
Beautiful. Thank you.
Ellin Bessner: It was invitation only for what may have been the last Israeli flag raising at Toronto City Hall for Yom ha-Atzmaut — metal detectors, bag searches, wristbands, then a brief elevator ride Wednesday morning. Up to the roof of Toronto’s council chambers and out onto the balcony overlooking Nathan Phillips Square and Old City Hall…the Toronto sign below and the Ukrainian flag that’s been flying on a pole there continuously since Russia’s invasion.
But the square was strangely empty. No anti-Israel protesters at all this time.
Not a single one. There was one person, but he was friendly, waving a large dual-sided Israeli-Canadian flag. Some of the invited guests wondered if protesters simply didn’t realize Israel was marking its seventy-eighth birthday this year in April, according to the Hebrew calendar, and not on the May 14th secular anniversary of 1948.
[Jenya Drazman/Chief of Staff to James Pasternak]: Not even in the square, so I mentioned it to the head of security here, and she goes, “Shh, don’t jinx it!” Yeah, it’s true. It’s true.
Ellin Bessner: This ceremony, long scheduled, carried new weight because just weeks earlier Toronto City Council voted to end the city’s decades-old practice of raising foreign flags, a civic ritual rooted in multiculturalism now strained since October 7th. Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has called the Israeli ceremony “divisive”. She doesn’t usually attend these events at all, and she didn’t come to this one either, but no one mentioned her by name. Instead, the tone was defiant, proud, resilient, and also reflective.
Coun. James Pasternak, Ward 6]: OK, welcome everybody. We’re ready to start. Thank you so much for coming. My name is Councillor James Pasternak, and it is an honour and a pleasure to welcome you at City Hall. Congratulations, Mazel tov, to the State of Israel on Yom ha-Atzmaut Independence Day celebrations.
Ellin Bessner: A sense that a long-standing ritual had become collateral damage caught up in a global conflict that’s now playing out on Canadian streets.
Pasternak: We gather on an occasion of celebration, but we cannot ignore the hate and violence that engulfed our cherished city. Shots in the night, storming Jewish-owned stores, gunmen shooting up synagogues, swarming Jewish businesses, shooting the U.S. consulate, blocking ambulance routes, assaulting police, mezuzzot ripped off our doorways, swastikas in places of worship, vandalism, mass hooligans letting off smoke bombs. Have we come all this way for this?
Ellin Bessner: I’m Ellin Bessner, and this is what Jewish Canada sounds like for Friday, April 24th, 2026. Welcome to North Star, the flagship podcast of The Canadian Jewish News, made possible thanks to the Ira Gluskin and Maxine Granovsky Gluskin Charitable Foundation.
For more than a decade, this Israeli flag ceremony at City Hall was routine, and after the October 7 Hamas attacks, the city even flew the Israeli flag at half-staff for two days at some municipal buildings in solidarity.
Councillor James Pasternak hosted this last event. He helped launch the Israeli flag tradition about 15 years ago, after he was first elected. And while most councillors supported the flag ban, Pasternak did not and voted against ending it.
Pasternak: We are in this mess because of a broken judiciary, timid policing, and spineless leaders. I don’t recognize the city anymore. What happened to our city of high purpose? What happened to moral clarity? What has happened to our stellar worldwide reputation as a safe place to live, work, raise a family, and retire? Yet on the other hand, we celebrate today because we are sending a message around the city and around the world that we will not be intimidated. The Jewish community helped build this city and this country, and we are not going anywhere. We are here to stay.
Bessner: His speech captured the mood — part celebration, part warning. Other speakers followed, including Avi Benlolo, who is CEO of the Abraham Global Peace Initiative.
Avi Benlolo: You know, we commemorated Yom ha’Zikaron just yesterday. Sadly, my family has also lost my cousin years ago, who was a commando flying over Lebanon in an accident. His sister wrote something so powerful in memorializing him. She said that this year, with all the pain, with all the suffering that Israel has endured, that the Jewish people have endured, she is looking forward to life, to celebrating his life rather than crying and weeping — as hard as that is.
And that is the story of this generation of Jews who are here, who are standing here, who are strong, who are resilient.
And I’ve been at these flag raisings now for 25 years. Never have I seen a crowd this big. Right? For all of you who have been here. This is a testament to us, to our enduring strength and survival and resilience, that we are here, we are strong, and we are not just celebrating Israel’s seventy-eighth year. We are celebrating our right to be Jews. We are celebrating our historical indigenous rights to the land of Israel that goes way back, to over 3,000 years.
And so this is our story. This is our time, and this is why I applaud all of you and our friends here at City Hall for standing with us today and raising this flag proudly, to defend Israel, stand up for freedom and democratic values. Thank you.
Ellin Bessner:
For some, the size of the crowd today said everything — about 100 people. Michael Levitt of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center:
Michael Levitt: We all hope for a day when Israel can live in peace with its neighbors. We’ve already seen what’s possible through agreements like the Abraham Accords, and that should give us all the confidence that a better future is achievable.
At the same time, we must not look away from the sustained and odious campaign taking place in our own city to demonize and delegitimize Israel, masking anti-Jewish hate under the guise of anti-Zionism. That hate has no place in Toronto or anywhere else in Canada.
My message to every single one of those responsible for that campaign is that I’m a proud Canadian, a proud Ontarian, a proud Torontonian, a proud Jew, and a proud and unapologetic Zionist, and our Jewish community is strong, resilient, and unwavering. That is who we are at our core. My hope is that next year we gather under better circumstances, able to celebrate this day in the spirit and joy it deserves.
Ellin Bessner: And for Israel’s consul general Idit Shamir, who is nearing the end of her five-year posting to Toronto and Western Canada, the message was about connection between Israel and Toronto even amid rising tensions here, including loud calls for academic and economic boycotts.
Idit Shamir: But friendship is not only about standing together in difficult moments, it is also about building something together. Israel today is a hub of innovation, of technology, of ideas that shape the future — from healthcare to cybersecurity, from agriculture to clean energy.
While Israeli forces fought on seven fronts simultaneously, Israeli startups raised $15 billion US dollars. The stock exchange rose by 51%. Google paid $32 billion for an Israeli company in the middle of the war.
Israeli and Toronto companies already work together. The potential to grow that partnership in this city, in this province, is real, and it is within reach. There is enormous potential in strengthening those ties with Toronto, with Ontario, with Canada, because when we collaborate, we do more than advance our own interests. We contribute to a better future. And that ultimately is what Israel has always been about — not only survival, but contribution; not only resilience, but renewal. So today, as we celebrate Yom ha’Atzmaut, we do so with pride and with clarity — pride in what has been built, clarity about the challenges that remain, and confidence in the partnership that will help us meet them.
Ellin Bessner: Deputy Mayor Mike Colle took inspiration from Shamir’s Israel-themed nail art.
Councillor Mike Colle: As I was looking at the Consul General’s nails with the flag of Israel on her nails, she made a very profound statement the other night, which she said: “When we raise the Israeli flag, it’s like raising our middle finger on behalf of the 6 million Jews who died.” We’re raising our middle finger to those Jew haters and to those Nazi scum!
Ellin Bessner: Then came the anthems — O Canada, and then Hatikva.
And as the flag was raised, possibly for the last time here at Toronto City Hall, regrettably there wasn’t any wind. The blue and white barely moved for the group photo.
Linda Steinberg, president of the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada, found the moment bittersweet.
Ellin Bessner: Was that one of the reasons you wanted to come?
Linda Steinberg: Yes, but we wanted to come anyways to honour this special day, but it’s very, very sad as we reflect on the future that this is the last day. We’re certainly very, very aware of it.
Bessner: And what makes you sad?
Steinberg: Because it’s not being recognized in a very public way that it has been before, although I must say we’re not missing any of the protesters that we’ve had alongside us in previous years!
Bessner: And why do you think the city felt that it should ban all flag raisings? What do you think was behind that?
Steinberg: You know, I think it was our mayor. I just think they don’t — it’s hard to say. I know we know it’s very important and we know that a lot of other countries have their flag raising here, but there’s also a lot of protests, and I think it’s just to silence all of them.
Bessner: So collateral damage — basically collateral damage?
Steinberg: Absolutely.
Bessner: And how compared to like when you came two years ago, what did you see about the size of the crowd? They said this is a large crowd — is this true?
Steinberg: Immensely — at least double, if not more, and it’s very heartwarming to see that as we turn around and look at everybody, it’s standing room only.
Ellin Bessner: Not everybody agreed on what the end of the flag raising meant. Rabbi Louis Sachs of Beth Sholom synagogue debated whether to attend at all.
Rabbi Louis Sachs: I’ve come to a few events at City Hall that celebrate different Jewish holidays. And it’s been really nice to see Councillor Pasternak and others that support the Jewish community and have been big supporters. I debated coming today a little bit because the mayor often stops by and does a photo op and says a few words, and the idea of being a Jewish representative in the background that seems to lend support or favour — in the way that she’s just really not been there for our community at all in the last couple of years, and even worse, really actively doing things that have damaged and hurt and endangered our community here in the city. So I debated if I wanted to come, but seeing the Israeli flag fly here in Toronto over City Hall was something that was really important and outweighed it. And if she comes, she comes, and hopefully — we believe in teshuvah and our people — so hopefully one of these days she’ll wake up and she’ll start fighting for the people of her city.
Bessner: She’s having a press conference, a media availability at the exact same time ahead of the city council meeting, so I’m sure she can’t be in two places at once.
Wondering what emotions you have — it’s Yom ha-Atzmaut. We’re watching the Israeli flag as it’s about to fly up over the plaza, but they’re banning all flag raising now going forward. The city made a motion. What do you think that signifies? Is that a good thing for the Jewish community or not?
Rabbi Sachs: To be honest, I’m not so up on the politics. I didn’t know that this was happening. I knew it happened in Mississauga. I didn’t realize it was happening here in the city as well, to be frank. I understand the idea of not putting up other countries’ flags in our cities. I don’t think that a city really has much to say about the conflict in the Middle East. I think there are problems here locally — hunger and food scarcity has increased, homelessness has increased tremendously over the last few years in Toronto. We have local issues to address.
So I frankly think there’s a bit of — it lends itself to creating a divisive environment, raising foreign flags. I understand the idea of not putting any up. I think given that they’ve had this tradition of putting them up, suddenly deciding not to, it’s a whole other can of worms that it opens up. But I don’t need every local leader having an opinion on things happening abroad. I need our federal government to be involved, but beyond that, I’d love for the city to really focus on fixing the city and those here who need it.
Ellin Bessner: Some see the policy as a way to reduce conflict. Others see it differently, including Rafi Yablonsky, who runs the Canadian Shaare Zedek Hospital Foundation office, who made a point to show off his blue-and-white Magen David flag socks.
Rafi Yablonsky: Toronto has always been a diverse city where everyone can come from their different backgrounds and not have to hide it. It’s not the melting pot of the United States — you know, you get to share your traditions and values, where you come from. And obviously it’s important that you also share the Western, liberal values that Canada is known for.
But my family moved here in ’89 after I survived an Intifada attack as a baby, and Toronto has given us hope, and this has been a proud moment for me for 10 years now. I’ve been coming to this. And it’s a big, important day to share that the Jewish community’s influence and impact that we’ve had on the shaping of the City of Toronto, from its original history ‘till today. I think it’s a beautiful thing that we do this, and we should respect and honour other traditions and values that people have come here from. Even Ukrainian flags are going to be banned, and it’s a shame that we’re not going to have that anymore here.
Bessner: Why do you think this was decided by the folks at City Hall? What were they trying to avoid?
Yablonsky: Oh, I think they’re trying to avoid controversy — like when they raised the Palestinian flag after Carney announced that he supports the State of Palestine, as Canada’s official declaration of support. And I think that opened up a whole can of worms because it’s not an official country, and they raised the flag and it caused controversy from all sides of the aisles and all different levels of government, and even for people in the city. Especially after 2.5 years of those protests that the average citizen here is not a fan of — and obviously people are not so vocal, but I know a lot of non-Jewish family friends for whom those demonstrations, those protests, scare them. And they don’t feel that they should be welcome here.
I think they’re trying to do what they can to minimize any of that. I don’t think that’s the approach (just to ban all the flags) in my opinion. And hopefully next year they’ll change their mind, and I’ll be back here to see the Israeli flag being raised loud and proud over the city of Toronto.
Bessner: Others focus less on the final ceremony and more on what happens next. Avi Attali is with the advocacy group One Global Voice and says if the city’s going to ban flag raisings for foreign countries, it has to apply the rule equally.
Avi Attali: I’m OK with that, as long as there is one rule for everybody and there is no more raising of any flags. For example, this flag of Ukraine has been here for the past three or four years —
Bessner: our listeners can’t see, but it’s across the square, on the Queen Street side.
Attali: It’s still the public square. So if the municipality decides no more flags, are we going to see this flag come down? That’s my question.
Bessner: It’s a really good question. I don’t know the answer. How many times have you come for the Israeli ceremony?
Attali: I don’t know, probably the third time. You can have a reception. You don’t need to have a flag raising. It’s OK. I’m totally OK with that. The main point is that nobody can do it.
You’re here. It’s Yom ha-Atzmaut, and they’re doing it for Yom ha-Atzmaut. But you recognize that in other cities — Calgary, Mississauga — they’re also banning it.
Attali: Yeah, we were supposed to — we already had the OK to do a flag raising today in Mississauga. And then two weeks ago, the council sat and decided to cancel everything because of what we asked to do. Michael [Teper of the Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation] was the one that instigated it. So you know, that’s the way it is. But it’s fair. Honestly, a municipality shouldn’t deal with foreign affairs, so I can understand that. I can agree with that.
Bessner: Michael Tepper, president of the Canadian Anti-Semitism Education Foundation, points to the timing of the new approach around several Canadian cities. Toronto’s ban doesn’t take effect until December, but Mississauga’s took effect immediately, canceling the planned Israeli flag raising he’d arranged just weeks earlier.
Michael Teper: Yes, immediately after the Palestinian flag was raised at Mississauga City Hall. I applied to the Mississauga city government for permission for a flag raising ceremony for Yom ha-Atzmaut. The application was accepted, and we even had an extensive meeting with city officials and the Peel Regional Police about security arrangements. And within a week of that meeting, Mississauga City Council passed a surprise resolution to ban all flag raisings, including the ones for which prior approval had been granted.
And my issue is not with whether there are going to be flag raisings at Mississauga or not generally. My issue is with the timing of it. It was deliberately engineered to prevent a Yom ha-Atzmaut ceremony in Mississauga, while the Palestinian flag was raised the previous fall, and I think that’s unfair. There needs to be one rule for everyone without discrimination.
Bessner: But the city raised the Palestinian flag in November here.
Teper: Yes, they did.
Bessner: You guys tried to stop it.
Teper: We tried to stop it. Well, I didn’t try to stop it.
Bessner: Some Jewish groups — yes, tried to stop that with an injunction, which they lost. Do you think that was in any way contributing to what’s happened now?
Teper: I think that’s a fair inference — that the city government decided, in the view of that injunction application, which was unsuccessful, that the flag raisings had become divisive and they had to stop. Again, my issue is timing. This flag raising program at the city of Toronto is going to be stopping at the end of 2026, which will allow the Palestinian side to have their flag raising one more time, which I think is unfair — that they end up with two cracks at the can rather than one.
Bessner: After the 50-minute ceremony, there was a reception inside with Israeli flag cookies, fruit platters, and a petition to take home from Pasternak’s office calling for an end to weekly protests at Bathurst and Sheppard in his ward.
We asked the city whether the new ban includes the Ukrainian flag, which has been flying continuously in solidarity, and the Palestinian flag ceremony, which might happen in November. Officials didn’t give a clear yes or no. They just sent a link to the city’s schedule of upcoming flag raisings, which apparently gets updated regularly.
As I left City Hall, the wind finally came up. The Israeli flag was now fully extended in the sunshine. For years, these ceremonies weren’t news, until Israel became too controversial. And yet despite all the past acrimony over the past two years, on this day, I was the only reporter there. The ceremony, just like the tradition, ended quietly. In the square below, just a couple of student tour groups checking out the Toronto sign and the usual food truck vendors parked along Queen Street.
For The CJN’s North Star, I’m Ellin Bessner in Toronto.
And that’s what Jewish Canada sounded like for this episode of North Star, made possible thanks to the generous support of the Ira Gluskin and Maxine Granovsky Gluskin Charitable Foundation. Our show is produced by Zachary Judah Kauffman, with executive producer Michael Fraiman and Alicia Richler as editorial director.
Next week, our political panel reconvenes to evaluate one year with Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government, now a majority, and what that means for Jewish Canadians.
And we’ll do a feature interview with retired Toronto Police Inspector Hank Idsinga on his new memoir and the antisemitism he found in the country’s largest police force. Thanks for listening.
Credits
Host and writer: Ellin Bessner ( @ebessner )Production team: Zachary Kauffman (senior producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer), Alicia Richler (editorial director)Music: Bret Higgins
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Ellin is a journalist and author who has worked for CTV News, CBC News, The Canadian Press and JazzFM. She authored the book Double Threat: Canadian Jews, the Military and WWII (2019) and contributed to Northern Lights: A Canadian Jewish History (2020). Currently a resident of Richmond Hill, Ont., she is a fan of Outlander, gardening, birdwatching and the Toronto Maple Leafs. Contact her at [email protected].