An injunction filed by a pro-Israel advocacy group to stop the Palestinian flag from being raised at Toronto City Hall has been dismissed.
The flag-raising ceremony went ahead this morning, despite
opposition from a Canadian Jewish advocacy group
as well as more than 25,000 people who signed a petition, and even a city councillor.
A
posted on X shows the Palestinian flag being raised to chants of “Free, free Palestine.” In another video, some attendees can be seen cheering and holding Palestinian flags at Nathan Phillips Square, below the platform where the flag was raised.
Historic moment as Palestinian flag is raised at Toronto City Hall for the first time.
📸 Nov 17, 2025#Toronto #ProtestMania pic.twitter.com/2iQBDnHepJ
— Caryma Sa’d – Lawyer + Political Satirist (@CarymaRules) November 17, 2025
The Tafsik Organization, which was behind the injunction, posted online on Monday that it had been dismissed. “The fight continues,” the post said.
Injunction motion has been dismissed.
The fight continues 💪🏼 pic.twitter.com/2jGyq3iWbv
— Tafsik Organization (@Tafsikorg) November 17, 2025
“Canada’s
recognition of Palestine on September 21, 2025
, was explicitly conditional, requiring democratic reforms, demilitarization, exclusion of terrorist groups from governance, and progress toward a two-state solution — conditions that remain unmet,” said Tafsik’s executive director Amir Epstein in a news release earlier in November.
“Proceeding with the ceremony under these circumstances misapplies the policy and transforms a civic symbol into a partisan endorsement.”
Jewish advocacy group B’nai Brith told National Post last week that “commemorating this moment, in the context of rising antisemitism in Canada, is not only insensitive but also reckless and irresponsible.”
A
to stop the flag-raising in Toronto garnered more than 25,000 signatures. It called for a different way to show support for Palestinians that would not create more division.
City Councillor James Pasternak
also posted against the flag-raising
, saying that although political activism is a sacred Charter right, “it does not grant blanket immunity to disrupt the lives of law-abiding citizens, trample laws, endanger public safety, or hijack civic spaces.”
According to the City of Toronto
, flags of nations recognized by the Government of Canada on their national day or on the anniversary of a special occasion can be raised on existing courtesy flagpoles following an approved request.
The city confirmed to National Post last week that the request to raise the Palestinian flag was made on behalf of Palestinian advocacy group the International Centre of Justice for Palestinians (ICJP).
The request was made to recognize Palestinian Independence Day, which was on Nov. 15.
However, Epstein said the event was being endorsed by groups including Toronto 4 Palestine, CJPME, Labour for Palestine, Palestine House, and others, who have histories of “protests escalating to violence or rhetoric accused of promoting anti-Zionism, which critics equate with antisemitism under definitions like the IHRA Working Definition adopted in various Canadian contexts.”
Meanwhile, the ICJP said in a news release that the flag-raising is “a symbolic show of solidarity” for Palestinians in Toronto and beyond.
The flag-raising is “inherently political,” said Epstein.
Other Canadian cities have recently raised Palestinian flags, including
, Winnipeg and Mississauga.
Today, under the City’s Community Recognition Program, the Palestinian flag was raised on the community recognition flagpole at #Mississauga Celebration Square as requested by the community to acknowledge Canada’s recognition of the State of Palestine. pic.twitter.com/NheChwVv5H
— City of Mississauga (@citymississauga) November 16, 2025
More to come…
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