Toronto police apologize, delete podcast that saw officers credit Oct. 7 terror attacks for leading people to convert to Islam

The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is apologizing to the Jewish community after it published a podcast that featured two Muslim liaison officers seemingly crediting the October 7 Hamas terror attacks for leading people to study and ultimately convert to Islam.

The episode was part of the police service’s Project Olive Branch podcast. It has since been deleted.

During the episode, Constables Haroon Siddiqui and Farhan Ali, discuss the impact the October 7 attacks have had, with Siddiqui saying it resulted in more people learning about, and ultimately embracing Islam.

“Through social media, a lot of people after October 7 started learning about Islam … and there have been a lot of reverts through this whole process,” he said, as Ali nods in agreement.

“The amount of people that are reverting to Islam is unbelievable.”

Why are @TorontoPolice officers in uniform at a police station boasting about Muslim conversion rates to Islam as a direct result after October 7th, the largest mass casualty of Jews since the Holocaust?@TPSOperations @TPSMyronDemkiw @TPAca @CACP_ACCP pic.twitter.com/bgjOeKpq9k

— Leviathan (@l3v1at4an) March 10, 2025

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 released a statement apologizing for the podcast.

“We acknowledge that a recent episode of our podcast, Project Olive Branch, has caused significant upset and concern in the Jewish community and beyond. That was not our intention and we apologize. The podcast has been removed,” the statement reads.

We acknowledge that a recent episode of our podcast, Project Olive Branch, has caused significant upset and concern in the Jewish community and beyond. That was not our intention and we apologize. The podcast has been removed.

“We recognize the Jewish community’s profound pain…

— Toronto Police (@TorontoPolice) March 11, 2025

Police Chief Myron Demkiw added: “We recognize the Jewish community’s profound pain and anguish as a result of October 7 and the ensuing rise of anti-Semitism. 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.”

TPS says Chief Demkiw has ordered a review of procedures and content to “ensure it aligns with our commitment to respectful and inclusive engagement, while maintaining impartiality.”

More to come