Groups alarmed at house arrest for man who vowed to kill Jews
Waisuddin Akbari told car dealership manager he'd see him "on the news" for bombing synagogues, killing Jews
Author of the article:Bryan Passifiume
Published Jul 29, 2025 • 3 minute read
OTTAWA — The decision to sentence a convicted Toronto man to house arrest for a disturbing antisemitic tirade has Canadian Jewish groups seeking answers.
On Tuesday, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) are called for big changes to Canada’s hate crime laws after 41-year-old Waisuddin Akbari — charged after promising staff at a BMW dealership that he intended to kill Jews and blow up synagogues — was handed 60 days of house arrest instead of a prison term.
“It’s because of Akbari and those like him that Jewish Canadians don’t feel safe, and indeed are not safe, even in the very spaces meant to offer solace and peace,” said FSWC’s Jaime Kirzner-Roberts.
“While we appreciate the court’s acknowledgment of the virulently antisemitic nature of this crime, this minimal sentence fails to reflect the severity of the threat made against the Jewish community.”
Court transcripts reveal Akbari’s chilling words.
According to the Nov. 2024 decision by Justice Edward Prutschi, of the Ontario Court of Justice, the problems began when Akbari visited the dealership for an oil change.
In a conversation with a sales manager identified in transcripts as “Mr. Ahmad,” Akbari — who, according to court records, was born in Afghanistan but spent his childhood in Pakistan — expressed concerns about financing a new vehicle because he believed his interest payments would be funnelled to the Israeli government and fund a so-called “genocide” in Gaza.
Akbari, according to the records, believes the Israeli government controls the world and aims to “exterminate anyone who was not Jewish,” telling Ahmad that Israel intended to enslave the world.
“He went on to equate Israelis and Jewish people to roaches or insects who should be exterminated and to a cancer that needed to be eliminated,” the decision read.
According to court records, Ahmad “became uncomfortable with the direction the conversation was headed as Mr. Akbari went on to make extremist and antisemitic remarks against the Israeli government and the Jewish people.”
As the two were parting company, Akbari told Ahmad to remember his face, and that the next time he’d see it would be on the news.
“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 told Ahmad.
“I’ll make sure those attacks are filmed and posted online so the world can see what I’ve done.”
Ahmad, who said in court he believed Akbari was 100% serious, reported the exchange to the police the next day, which led to Akbari’s arrest.
“The mens rea (guilty mind) of the offence is made out if the accused intended the words he uttered either to intimidate or to be taken seriously,” Prutschi continued in his decision.
“It is not necessary to prove that he intended to actually follow through or carry out on the stated threat.”
Canada has seen an explosion of antisemitism since the Oct. 7 2023 terror attacks, which saw scores of Palestinian terrorists conduct a campaign of kidnappings, murder and sexual assault against Israeli men, women and children.
In Toronto, far-left anti-Israel activists have vandalized Jewish businesses, homes and places of worship, opened fire at Jewish schools, and conduct regular intimidation marches on city streets — even through Jewish neighbourhoods.
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Waisuddin Akbari told car dealership manager he'd see him "on the news" for bombing synagogues, killing Jews
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