July 28, 2025
TORONTO – An Ontario court has sentenced a Newmarket man for making hateful threats against Jews, citing community impact statements by B’nai Brith Canada and other Jewish groups.
Waisuddin Akbari, 42, was convicted in March for threatening to “bomb every synagogue in Toronto” during a conversation with a stranger. He also expressed interest in killing as many Jewish people as possible.
“Akbari’s threats were neither harmless nor abstract,” said Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s Director of Research and Advocacy. “Jewish Canadians have lived in fear for years, and threats such as his – even when they are prevented from becoming actions – contribute to this existential insecurity.”
During his sentencing Monday, the Court acknowledged that threat-actors such as Akbari have caused Jewish institutions to upgrade security in ways that were once unimaginable in Canada. Synagogues, for example, have remained under constant surveillance during the past two years, while most have also enlisted private security and mandated that doors be locked throughout the day.
