"He said he was from Yemen and a Houthi."

"First thing I told her [991 call-operator ] was I'm being attacked because I'm visibly Jewish and this fellow is threatening to kill me!"

"I dodged all the projectiles he was throwing at me, blocked him with my arms. I've go lesions and scratches on both arms."

"Some people are telling me I should have knocked the guy out. I said, 'Absolutely not. Then I could be arrested and he would go free, and I would be the bad guy'. So I deliberately just stayed 10 or 15 feet away."

"I evaded him and blocked with my arms. And then he just kept, you know, with his obscenities."

Joseph Bitton, Toronto real estate agent/lawyer 

Toronto Police

 

 He's Abdulkadir Al-Jelani, a 58-year-old resident of Toronto and he doesn't like Jews. His conception of civilized behaviour is that when he spots someone nearby whose accoutrements betrays him as a Jew, that signals an opportunity to threaten, spew racist vitriol, thrash the hated Jew, and throw blunt-force objects with the intention of causing death. Jews are not supposed to fight back, to protect themselves. That's what has given Israel a bad name among those of its neighbours who believed that mass militarized assaults could destroy it. FLASH!! Jews fight back!!

 

Mr. Bitton's reaction was to keep his attacker at bay, and his intention was to have him arrested for criminal assault with prejudice. Knowing very well that as in past standoffs between Jews and their consummate haters, the roles were somehow reversed when police entered the scene, going easy on the Jew-haters, berating the Kippah-clad Jew who, they contended, aroused the violent antipathy of the attacker by his very provocative Jewish presence. 

 

Mr. Bitton came away from the encounter with cuts and bruises;  his injuries could have been much, much worse. But the real injury was inspired by the realization that despite that he was in Toronto, in an urban setting, surrounded by scores of other people, none among them were interested in interceding on his behalf, not even to give him the encouragement of their empathy that an innocent man who had done nothing to fire up an instant opponent, was in danger. It was the very fact that even though countless others were about, he was alone.  

"Nobody lifted a finger."

"There were dozens and dozens of witnesses at the bus stop, on the bus, at the other location across the street, at the original location."

"The only one single person that stepped out to help me was one retail tenant from the property that I manage, and he knows me."

"He came out when the guy was swinging this pylon, and tried to put distance between us and get the guy to stand down."

 Joseph Bitton 

He did have the presence of mind to immediately dial 911 as the attack commenced. He was going about his legitimate business as a manager of a commercial property. Readily identified as a Jew, given his kippah, he heard from the man who attacked him: Jews are "baby killers committing genocide". And because his attacker identified a man he had no knowledge of, other than that he was a Jew, he was prepared to kill him, in a virtuous act of defending the children's lives that Jews are purportedly so anxious to take. 

 

The social blight that this man and those who believe and think and react as he does represents a mass psychosis, one fed by an almost-instinctive cultural-rooted belief in the evil that is world Jewry represented by the State of Israel. Describing the attack with the hate-demented attacker picking up garbage-day trash and building debris including a brick, metal brackets and a tree branch, the attack, said Mr. Bitton lasted 35 minutes.

 

That included pursuit of the man attempting to flee, whom he followed from a distance of 10 to 15 feet, boarding a bus after him, following when he ran through a rear door, crossed the street and boarded another bus driving in the opposite direction. Mr. Bitton was determined to see the man arrested for assault (and attempted murder), alerting both bus drivers not to pull away, but to await the arrival of police.

 

Eventually, the attacker ran to a laneway behind an automotive repair shop, the while continuing to throw rocks and bricks, until police arrived. Eight police officers cornered the suspect at a dead end, handcuffing him and placing him within a police cruiser. Footage from eight property surveillance cameras helped police to identify the suspect, charged with three counts of assault with a weapon and one count of uttering death threats.

 

What remains is for the police to finally acknowledge that this represented a racially-motivated assault, however, police plan to 'investigate' the incident as a 'possible hate-motivated crime'. Should a criminal offence like an assault be construed as having been motivated by bias, prejudice or hate, the officer in charge may decide to consult with the Crown for sentencing purposes, recognizing hate as an aggravating factor upon conviction.   

When the police grabbed him, he kept saying 'I didn't do anything!'"

"They saw the guy doing everything, throwing the pylon at me, and swinging at me, and throwing things at me."

Joseph Bitton 

The Toronto Police Service is making the public aware of an arrest made in a suspected hate-motivated Assault with a Weapon investigation.

It is alleged that:

• on Tuesday, June 30, 2026, at approximately 12:10 p.m., the accused, without provocation, approached the victim in the Jane Street and Lawrence Avenue West area
• the accused yelled anti-Israeli slurs and then picked up rocks and other items from the street and repeatedly threw them at the victim while uttering death threats
• the victim sustained minor injuries
• it is believed that the victim was targeted because of their religious attire

On Tuesday, June 30, 2026, at approximately 12:20 p.m., Abdulkadir Al-Jelani, 58, of Toronto, was arrested and charged with: 

1. Three counts of Assault with a Weapon
2. One count of Uttering Death Threats

He is scheduled to appear in court at the Toronto Regional Bail Centre, at 2201 Finch Avenue West, on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, at 10 a.m., in courtroom 105.

Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-3505, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com.

When suspected hate-motivated offences are reported to police, the investigation is led by the Hate Crime Unit (HCU).

If it is alleged a criminal offence was committed (such as assault or mischief) and it is believed to have been motivated by bias, prejudice or hate, the officer-in-charge may consult with the Crown. If a person is charged and convicted of the offence, the Judge will take into consideration hate as an aggravating factor when imposing a sentence.

Wilful promotion of hatred and advocating genocide are hate propaganda (hate speech) offences which require the Attorney General’s consent to lay charges. These charges are often laid at a later time.

Toronto Police Service