Rebel News founder Ezra Levant says he could face up to two years in prison for allowing an anonymous group to run video advertisements on a truck he owns.
The Toronto Police Service announced that its Hate Crime Unit is investigating the truck, which was filmed displaying video footage of anti-Israel protesters shutting down the streets in Toronto.
In between video segments showing various demonstrations, the truck ads read, “Is this Yemen? Is this Syria? Is this Iraq? No. This is Canada. Wake up Canada. You are under siege.”
Levant said that he was simply running ads “for another group of loyal Canadian citizens who felt totally abandoned by the police and politicians. Real Canadians don’t shoot schools or take over campuses,” said Levant. “They run ads on our truck. It’s called free speech — you can look it up in our Charter of Rights.”
If convicted for hate speech, Levant, said he could be jailed for up to two years.
“And don’t think they won’t try. Our Rebel News reporters have been arrested by Toronto police several times just for asking Hamas supporters questions,” said Levant. “The police hate us because we’re not silent and obedient, which is what they’ve told the Jewish community to be.”
Levant criticized the Toronto police for “two-tier policing.”
Others voiced similar concerns on X, showcasing that when a similar truck promoting hatred against Jews drove through the streets of Toronto, the Toronto police allegedly did nothing. The video ads on that truck read, “From the river to the sea.”
The American Jewish Committee said that the saying “calls for the establishment of a State of Palestine from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea, erasing the State of Israel and its people.”
Mohamad Fakih, the founder of the Paramount food chain, initially offered $25,000 to whomever could reveal the identity of the truck owner.
After revealing that Rebel owned the truck, Levant publicly demanded his $25,000 reward. He told Fakih that he could pay in falafel and shawarma.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow condemned the truck.
“Let us continue to work together, unite against hate of all kinds and build a city where everyone is treated with dignity and respect — a city where everyone belongs,” she said.
“No surprise — she’s a pro-Hamas NDP mayor, who has refused to attend key Jewish community events,” said Levant.
Liberal MP Salma Zahid joined the calls for an investigation.
Other supporters of Levant posted videos of Hamas supporters calling for the death of all Israelis and America in the streets of Ottawa.
Some Rebel News employees stood with Levant.
“Imagine if police in Canada took mass church arson, calls for genocide and shots fired at Jewish schools as seriously as billboard trucks,” said Rebel News journalist Adam Soos.
The truck driving through the streets came just a few weeks after a Jewish girls’ school in Toronto was shot up. Antisemitism has also been widespread at on-campus encampmenets across the country, including in Toronto.
Levant claims that he has broken no laws and stands by the messaging.