Student groups at the University of Toronto have been criticised for scheduling a vigil entitled “Honoring Our Martyrs” on the anniversary of the October 7 attacks.
The event, advertised by several pro-Palestinian groups, is scheduled for Sidney Smith Hall on October 7.
Promotional material described the gathering as marking “three years of genocide” and called on students to “remember and honour” Palestinians who have died during the Gaza war.
Dr Casey Babb, a national security expert and senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, said the timing had left members of the Jewish community “mortified”.
Writing on X, Babb accused the organisers of holding an event for Palestinian “martyrs” on the anniversary of the October 7 attacks, when more than 1,200 people were killed in Israel, and hundreds more were abducted.
“What’s happening to this once great country is appalling,” Babb added.
Speaking to the Jerusalem Post, Babb added that “many in the Jewish community, and even those outside of it, who've also been subjected to the antizionist lynch mob these last few years, were mortified to learn of this event, but not surprised”.
“Similar events, which feel like celebratory gatherings to honour our murderers, are happening across the country on October 7,” he added.
Meanwhile, the Network of Engaged Canadian Academics (NECA) also questioned the decision to hold the event on October 7.
“Rallies, protests, and public memorials are important parts of democratic life,” NECA said, stressing that freedom of expression must be balanced with the safety and dignity of other students.
The group said the date required scrutiny over whether the event was intended simply as a commemoration of Palestinian suffering or could be perceived as “the glorification of violence and terror”.
NECA also pointed to the significance of the October 7 anniversary for Jewish and Israeli students, asking what safeguards would be in place to prevent harassment, intimidation or the glorification of the attacks.
Hillel Ontario CEO Jay Solomon called on the university to take a stronger stance.
“There is no justification for honouring those who murdered, tortured, and kidnapped innocent people,” Solomon said.
A separate screening of The Gaza Ghetto Uprising, a documentary by Adi Callai, is scheduled for October 6 at the UTSU Student Commons.
Honest Reporting Canada has criticised both events on X, arguing that the timing of the activities around the October 7 anniversary is “unacceptable” and “must not be allowed to happen”.
A university spokesperson said administrators were aware of events planned “on and near our campuses” around October 7, including activities organised by recognised student groups as well as groups with no official university status.
The university said it was weighing freedom of expression and human rights protections alongside its obligations under Ontario’s free-speech rules and Bill 166.
Campus Safety staff are reviewing the events and will work with police where necessary, the spokesperson said.
But they stressed that it “is not the University’s role to adjudicate speech that falls within the bounds of its policies or Canadian law”.
They added that it would act if events or participants breached university policies, and that everyone on campus would be required to comply with university rules and Canadian law.
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