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A 29-year-old Toronto man has been charged with arson and three other offences after Israeli flags were removed outside of a church near Sunrise Ave. and O’Connor Dr. and set on fire on Oct. 7.
Toronto Police said the incident happened shortly after 1 a.m. and the suspect, who was also charged after the 2024 Walk With Israel rally and after a separate incident on Oct. 7, 2025, fled the scene afterward.
Syed Raza was arrested and charged with arson, mischief under $5,000, mischief interfering with the lawful enjoyment of property and disobeying a lawful order of court.
The accused was identified by investigators at 4:06 p.m. on Saturday while at a demonstration in the Dundas St. E.-Yonge St. area.
“This was not a protest. It was an act of intimidation, aimed at the Jewish community and it seems, Christian residents right here in Toronto and at a place of worship. Fire and hate, together, on a residential street before dawn. That’s meant to frighten people, and everyone in this city should say plainly that it has no place here,” mayoral candidate Brad Bradford posted on X at the time.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-3505 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-8477 or 222tips.com .
Raza previously charged in 2024, 2025
Toronto cops confirmed to the Sun that Raza is the same man charged last year for allegedly pouring an unknown substance on a person at a Toronto Metropolitan University demonstration on Oct. 7, 2025.
Investigators said the suspect and victim in that incident were at the same demonstration at TMU when the suspect allegedly “approached the victim without provocation and poured an unknown substance on them.”
The suspect fled from the scene and no serious injuries were reported.
A few days later on Oct. 12, 2025, officers spotted the suspect at a separate demonstration in the Overlea Blvd.-Don Mills Rd. area.
Officers arrested Raza, then 28, and he was facing a single count of assault with a weapon.
Police also confirmed that he was also charged with public incitement of hatred and resisting a peace officer after the 2024 Walk With Israel rally in North York.
It was unclear if those charges had been resolved.
The third anniversary of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel — when co-ordinated, Hamas-led surprise attacks led to at least 1,200 people being killed, over 5,500 people being wounded and 251 people being abducted — was marked a week ago with moments of silence, candle lightings and memorials.