When, in the immediate aftermath of Hamas’ October 7, 2023 massacres, a group of students at Toronto Metropolitan University’s (TMU) Lincoln Alexander School of Law signed an open letter widely seen as justifying the terrorist attacks, that began a chain of controversies for the school formerly known as Ryerson University.

Two years later, a group of Jewish students at TMU sought to bring in former Israeli soldiers to discuss their experiences. When their event – held off-campus – took place, it was disrupted by a violent anti-Israel mob, organized by Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), which was – and remains – a registered club on campus.

The students who organized the November 5 event attacked by anti-Israel rioters said that they attempted to hold their event on campus, but failed to get approval, despite having provided enough notice in their application.

Ethan Elharrar, a pro-Israel student who helped organize the disrupted event, told The Canadian Jewish News in an interview that “TMU also doesn’t want us to have the event on campus.”

While the school did not outright say that it banned Israelis, a university spokesperson was quoted in the same article as saying that it “never permitted IDF soldiers” to appear on campus.

But other speakers, specifically anti-Israel ones, Toronto Metropolitan University has shown little objection.

On November 26, the school’s Rogers Communications Centre held an event hosted by the School of Journalism and Ricochet Media, a local anti-Israel media outlet. The event, according to a fawning article by Adititi Roy in The Eyeopener, targeted Canary Mission and allegations that it sought to “silence pro-Palestine expression.”

Among the speakers was Yipeng Ge, an Ottawa doctor who has praised Hamas terrorism on social media, and Samira Mohyeddin, a YouTuber who identifies as a journalist, but in reality has spread anti-Jewish conspiracy theories on social media, including the baseless implication that Jews manufacture their own hate crimes. She formerly hosted a CBC food program, where following HonestReporting Canada’s exposure, she was censured by CBC about her social media activity violating the broadcaster’s standards.

Another panelist, Yara Shoufani, has appeared to justify Hamas’ October 7, 2023 massacres, virtually as they were still taking place. In a post the very next day, she wrote that “Palestinians have a right not only to resist, but to liberate our land from zionist colonization.” But far from being an isolated example, Shoufani’s social media is replete with hateful anti-Israel material and content that we are of the view that can reasonably be seen as justifying Palestinian terrorism.

Despite her clear track record of extremism, and apparently entirely unbothered by it, in November, 2025, Shoufani was announced as the new president of Canadians for Justice & Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), a radical anti-Israel organization.

In a statement sent to HonestReporting Canada, Jessica Leach, a spokesperson for Toronto Metropolitan University, did not address the extremist statements made by a number of speakers at the program hosted by the School of Journalism, but stated that “events that are hosted by faculty members, such as the November 26 event, have a different review process.”

Toronto Metropolitan University’s inability – or refusal – to host pro-Israeli speakers, all while ensuring a safe space for extremist anti-Israel fanatics, raises serious questions about the school’s commitment to safety for both Jewish students and anyone who wishes to challenge pervasive pro-Palestinian propaganda.