Toronto man threatens: "I'm going to plant a bomb in every synagogue in Toronto"

Canadian Jewish groups and politicians have expressed outrage over recently revealed threats made by a Toronto man. The man was convicted for threatening to plant bombs in every local synagogue and kill as many Jews as he could.

A Global News report last week highlighted the ruling, which had not received much coverage.

According to a November Ontario Court of Justice ruling, Afghanistan-born shawarma restaurant owner Waisuddin Akbari confided in car salesman Cameron Ahmad about the plot last March. Ahmad notified the police about the threats, believing that Akbari was serious about his intention to commit a violent attack.

The 41-year-old Akbari had come to 26-year-old Ahmad's dealership for an oil change and inquired about upgrading to a new vehicle. Akbari allegedly expressed concerns about financing a new vehicle because he believed interest payments would be funneled to the Israeli government to finance what he called a genocide against Palestinians.

Akbari told the court that it was Ahmad who raised the issue and claimed that not just Canadian finance flowed to Israel but that Israel controlled all global finance. Ahmad denied this claim.

Justice Edward Prutschi found it "utterly bizarre" that Akbari said he had only raised the concern to end the salesman's advances. This was considering that Akbari admitted to seeking to discuss a new car and there were better ways to end the conversation than veering into a conspiracy theory.

The two discussed the ongoing Israel-Hamas War. Ahmad told the court he was "on the side of the Palestinian state and the innocent civilians" and had said as much to Akbari. However, Ahmad reportedly became uncomfortable as Akbari allegedly went on to say that in response to a supposed genocide against Palestinian people, the Israeli state and Jewish people should also be subjected to genocide.

Akbari allegedly shared his belief that the Israeli government controlled the world and was trying to exterminate non-Jews to enslave and poison the world. He further equated Israelis and Jews to roaches and insects who should be exterminated. Akbari claimed to the court that he could not pronounce the words "roaches" and "insects." Ahmad was reportedly shocked and scared about how calm, clear, and concise Akbari was when making his comments.

"Before I go, I want you to remember my name and remember my face because the next time you see it, I'll be on the news," Akbari allegedly said before they parted ways. "I know when I'm going to die because I'm going to plant a bomb in every synagogue in Toronto and blow them up to kill as many Jews as possible."

Akbari reportedly promised to film the attack. The suspect claimed to the court that he had been misheard and joked to Ahmad that he would blow up a casino because he couldn't afford a new vehicle due to a gambling debt.

Ahmad said there was no doubt what Akbari said, and he didn't think the customer was joking based on his serious tone. He consulted with a colleague who was a former police officer and his older brother, who was serving in the Canadian military. A day after the exchange, Akbari was arrested and charged for making threats.

Akbari said to the court that he didn't know what Judaism was, and while he knew Jews existed, he didn't have knowledge about the religion and its connection to Israel. He also claimed to be unfamiliar with the word "synagogue."

Prutschi found Akbari's testimony disjointed and vague and found the man to be inconsistent, evasive, and confusing. The judge also found it unlikely that Ahmad, who was sympathetic to the Palestinian cause, would manufacture detailed allegations about a mass murder threat against a customer who had been a complete stranger.

JPost contributed to this article.