The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) says “sorry” isn’t good enough after the Toronto Police Service (TPS) published a podcast that featured two Muslim liaison officers crediting the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks with leading more people to Islam.
The Jewish advocacy group is calling for a formal investigation into the officers’ comments, and how the podcast episode was sanctioned and allowed to air.
During the Project Olive Branch episode, which has since been deleted, Constables Haroon Siddiqui and Farhan Ali discuss the impact of the deadly Oct. 7 surprise attack, with Siddiqui saying it resulted in more people learning about and ultimately embracing Islam.
“Through social media, a lot of people after Oct. 7 started learning about Islam … and there have been a lot of reverts through this whole process,” Siddiqui said, as Ali nods in agreement.
“The amount of people that are reverting to Islam is unbelievable.”
Both officers were in their uniforms during the episode.
The Hamas-led surprise attack at a music festival in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, claimed the lives of about 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and saw about 250 more abducted and held as hostages.
On Tuesday night, Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw released a statement apologizing for the podcast.
“We recognize the Jewish community’s profound pain and anguish as a result of October 7 and the ensuing rise of anti-Semitism,” Demkiw wrote. “I have personally heard from the community about the impact of this podcast, and I’m truly sorry. Our commitment to protecting our Jewish communities remains unwavering.”
We appreciate @TPSMyronDemkiw apology for @TPS’ deeply insensitive podcast that disregards our community’s serious and legitimate concerns, particularly about how pro-Hamas rallies continue unabated on our streets and neighbourhoods.
But important questions remain about how this… https://t.co/0vLEwOeRgH pic.twitter.com/cSPOfrwJhC
— CIJA (@CIJAinfo) March 12, 2025
Michelle Stock, Ontario VP for CIJA, responded to the chief’s apology in a publicly published letter, saying while his words were appreciated, more needs to be done.
“While the podcast has since been removed, its creation and uploading raise important questions about the oversight and appropriateness of its content,” she wrote.
“Specifically, the comments made by Constable Farhan Ali and Constable Haroon Siddiqui lead us to question how such remarks were allowed to be published on an approved Toronto Police platform, with both officers in uniform, without a proper review of their potential impact.”
“The fact this podcast was sanctioned by the TPS raises serious concerns that Police leadership may indeed align with these views, further exacerbating divisions between Jewish and Muslim communities in Toronto.”
Stock also pointed out that the podcast likely violated a section of the Community Safety and Policing Act that states: A police officer may engage in any political activity if the officer is off-duty and not in uniform, except that the officer may not, a) express views on any issues directly related to the police officer’s responsibility as a police officer and; b) associate any of the police officer’s views with the police officer’s position or represent those views as those of a police service.
“I strongly urge a formal investigation into how this podcast was sanctioned and allowed to air and into the behaviour of these two constables,” Stock added.
TPS says Chief Demkiw has ordered “a review of our procedures and content to ensure it aligns with our commitment to respectful and inclusive engagement, while maintaining impartiality” but has not announced a more in-depth investigation or any disciplinary action at this point.