A year later, Toronto is divided

Plus, addressing hate in the TDSB and Russia's online misinformation campaign [Get This Offer]( [The Star] First Up [By Kevin Jiang] By Kevin Jiang Good morning. Here’s the latest on Toronto in the year since the Oct. 7 attacks, rising hate and division in the TDSB, and a Russian scheme to push right-wing misinformation online. DON’T MISS Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images israel-hamas war [On the anniversary of the Oct.7 attacks, Toronto is divided]( In the year following Hamas’ October 7 attack, Toronto and beyond saw a staggering rise in division, anti-Palestinian racism and antisemitism. Even as Jewish demonstrators gathered in the sun yesterday afternoon, a Toronto police central field command van sat parked nearby and officers stood vigilant at the perimeter of the crowd, Wendy Gillis notes. [Here’s how Jewish Torontonians are faring today](. - By the numbers: Toronto police say there have been more than 1,500 protests across the city since last October. There have also been 350 reports of hate crimes this year — a 40 per cent increase. [Alleged hate crimes against Jewish residents have surged 69 per cent](. - Jon Allen’s take: The wounds left by the Oct. 7 attacks have festered into unprecedented polarization and a war that’s left some 41,000 dead. [Neither side can heal until there is peace in the Middle East](. - On the front lines: Hamas militants fired a barrage of rockets into Israel as mourners marked the anniversary of Oct. 7, while the Israeli military launched artillery and airstrikes overnight and into this morning to [thwart what it called an imminent attack](. Canadian Press/Frank Gunn education [TDSB is seeking ‘urgent’ guidance on addressing hate in schools]( As the crisis in the Middle East deepens, divisions and hate related to the conflict have infiltrated our classrooms. It has led the TDSB to ask for help resolving the mounting challenges, Kristin Rushowy and Isabel Teotonio report. “We need educators to have the necessary training, tools, resources” to support students without excluding either community, the acting chair of the TDSB said. [Here’s what can be done.]( - A class divided: Palestinian parents report their kids have been sanctioned for wearing kaffiyehs or clothing with “Free Palestine.” Meanwhile, Jewish parents and students have spoken out about racial slurs, kids performing Nazi salutes, antisemitic graffiti and Holocaust denial. Ramon Ferreira/The Star misinformation nation [Russia allegedly tapped Canadian far-right influencers to peddle misinformation]( If it were a movie, it might feel too clichéd: Russia funnelling money through a network of shell accounts to recruit a supergroup of right-wing stars into pushing favourable stories. But, should an explosive American indictment prove true, that’s exactly what happened, Alex Boyd reports. [Take a look inside this unravelling conspiracy and how Canadian influencers were caught up in it](. - More: Right now, only two people are facing charges — both employees of Russian state media outlet RT. - The Canadian connection: Given the role of Canadians in the scheme, Parliament’s security committee has also unanimously voted to launch a probe into what happened. [Toronto Star Archives] Look through the past with the Star Archives. Search your family name to trace your roots, find your birthdate to see what was making headlines or dive into true-crime stories to unravel gripping mysteries. Subscribers get access to 100+ years of the Star. Interested? [Start exploring here](. WHAT ELSE I found out what really happened between Pierre Poilievre and CTV. [The truth’s more depressing than the lie](. Toronto Councillor Michael Thompson’s [trial over alleged Muskoka cottage sex assaults begins today](. Pierre Poilievre has a plan to attract very specific voters. [Here’s how he’s pulling it off](. [Frank Stronach will face his sex assault charges]( in Brampton court today. British leader Keir Starmer’s chief of staff has [quit over reports that she made more than the prime minister](. [Here’s what Kamala Harris had to say about abortion]( and more on the “Call Her Daddy.” podcast. When they died, they were buried without a marker. [Go inside the quest to restore dignity to Ontario’s forgotten](. Here’s how Torontonians are enjoying a high-cost-of-living lifestyle — [without breaking the bank](. Inside the hidden way world leaders’ [hormone problems may have shaped history](. [These 10 surprising secrets of the ultra-frugal]( might just work for you. Ticketmaster paused the transfer of Taylor Swift’s Eras tickets [amid reports of hacks and theft](. The all-night arts festival Nuit Blanche asks us to confront a timely paradox. [Can we solve it?]( POV R.J. Johnston/The Star [I’m a rabbi heartbroken over October 7 and the violence in Palestine. Here’s what I wish each side understood about the other.]( CLOSE-UP Canadian Press/Chris Young ST. MICHAEL’S CATHEDRAL BASILICA: Francis Leo, the Archbishop of Toronto, has become one of 21 new cardinals named by Pope Francis on Sunday — and the only new cardinal from North America. [Here’s who else was named at the ceremony](. Thank you for reading. You can reach me and the First Up team at [firstup@thestar.ca](mailto:firstup@thestar.ca?source=newsletter&utm_source=ts_nl&utm_medium=emailutm_email=6C53B63A8E3FAD70AD4EF13004527437&utm_campaign=frst_3362). I’ll see you back here tomorrow. Get [thestar.com]( + ePaper edition. Only $1 for 6 months! Save over $100. 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