Zaheera Soomar

Overview

Zaheera Soomar posed as a Jew and attempted to enter a Toronto synagogue during a pro-Israel expo in March 2024. Soomar glorified terrorism at an anti-Israel rally held to protest the expo, which was for Israeli real estate.

Soomar has also denied the Hamas terror atrocities of October 7, 2023, spread anti-Semitism and expressed support for terrorists on social media.

Soomar is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

As of March 2024, Soomar’s LinkedIn profile said she had been the principal owner of Zaheera Soomar Advisory, a management consulting practice, since January 2019.

Also as of March 2024, Soomar’s LinkedIn said she had been a “Member | Advisor | Management Consultant” at Umbrex since January 2019.

As of the same date, Soomar’s LinkedIn said she graduated from the Haskayne School of Business at the University of Calgary (UCalgary) with a doctorate in business administration and management in December 2023. UCalgary is located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada.

As of March 2024, Soomar’s LinkedIn said she was located in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada.

Posing as a Jew to Enter a Synagogue & Glorifying Terrorism

On March 7, 2024, Soomar reportedly posted a photo of herself on social media with her hair covered in a style resembling that of Orthodox Jewish women. She planned on entering an Israeli real estate expo at a central synagogue in Thornhill, Ontario, a suburb of Toronto.

Soomar wrote on her photo: “This is me today.. / Playing dress up to get into the Synagogue for the stolen land sale event….I pulled it off.. they believed me..”

Soomar’s post, which has since been deleted, was featured on a March 8, 2024, Facebook user’s page.

However, also on March 7, 2024, Soomar posted on Instagram: “Almost got into the event. Security was tight and they were ruthless…I also walked back to my car to change and put my Palestine attire on (as I had dressed neutral to get in)...”

On March 12, 2024, Soomar then wrote on Facebook the following description of her attempt to enter the synagogue on March 7, 2024: “…On 7 March, I attempted to attend the event…I deliberately did not dress in Palestinain [sic] attire. I wore my standard clothes and tied my hijab differently to not attract unwanted attention…I did not lie about who I was. I did not pretend to be Jewish. I simply dressed to not attract unwanted attention…This [post] is to share the truth…”

During the real estate event, Soomar also participated in a protest being held outside the synagogue. Protesters chanted anti-Israel slogans and held [00:11:49] banners and signs, while pro-Israel counterprotesters stood across the street from them.

Also on March 7, 2024, Soomar posted on Instagram a video from the event, showing anti-Israel protesters chanting [00:00:01]: “Resistance is justified when people are occupied!”

Among Palestinians and anti-Israel activists, the term “resistance” can be a euphemism for nationalistic terror. It is often used to excuse or even glorify anti-Israel and anti-Semitic violence.

In Soomar’s same video, protesters also chanted [00:00:05]: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” and [00:00:57]: “Viva, viva, intifada…Long live the intifada!”

“From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be free” is a chant calling to dismantle the State of Israel. It has also been employed by Hamas leader Khaled Mashal to call for the replacement of Israel with an Islamic state.

The term “intifada,” which translates from Arabic as “uprising” or “insurrection,” carries the connotation of violence. Palestinian intifadas waged against Israel have been marked since 1987 by hundreds of hijackings, shootings, stabbings, bombings and suicide missions.

In Soomar’s video, protesters also held [00:11:49] a banner with text that read: “SYNAGOGUES COMPLICIT IN PALESTINIAN ETHNIC CLEANSING.” They chanted [00:03:00]: “Settlers, settlers, go back home, Palestine is our home!” and [00:05:01]: “Palestine is not for sale, Zionists go to hell!”

Zionism is the belief that Jews have the right to self-determination in their own national home, and the right to develop their national culture.

In the video that Soomar shared, one rally speaker said [00:03:42]: “They claim to be indigenous to the land and yet, with this little sun they have, all these white people are burning up. Let’s laugh as these white people claim that they are indigenous to the land!”

One way that anti-Israel activists spread anti-Semitism is to claim [00:06:46] that Israeli Jews, particularly Ashkenazi Jews, do not descend from the ancient Israelites. This claim alleges that Israeli Jews are white Europeans who lack a connection to the Land of Israel.

Protesters reportedly stomped, spat on and attempted to burn Israeli flags, and said: “F**k these Jews” and “The whole world hates you! You killed your own hostages!”

Denying Hamas Terror Atrocities

On December 20, 2023, Soomar wrote in a LinkedIn post regarding Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attacks: “...- NO beheaded babies / - NO women raped / - 1400 dead Isreal [sic] citizens now revised to 695 Israel citizens…Are we still condemning Hamas at this point?”

Hamas terrorists murdered at least 40 Israeli Jewish babies during its October 7, 2023, terror attacks. Some of the babies were beheaded and some were murdered in front of their parents.

Denial of the Hamas war crimes of October 7, 2023, among anti-Israel activists has been likened to Holocaust denial among neo-Nazis.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas raped women next to the bodies of dead friends. Some were raped and then shot in the head. Others, including young girls, were raped and murdered or mutilated in other ways.

Israeli officials opened an unprecedented investigation into the widespread sexual assault. Forensic analysis of corpses showed evidence of torture and rape. Hamas terrorists said they were given explicit orders to carry out the atrocities, including chopping off legs and raping the corpses of murdered victims.

On November 10, 2023, Israel’s foreign ministry announced that it had revised the Israeli death toll from the October 7, 2023, terror attacks from 1,400 to approximately 1,200.

In the same December 20, 2023 post, Soomar also wrote: “...Apart from the 200 [Israeli] hostages that they took (to swop out [sic] for the 5000+ Palestinian hostages that Israel took prior to 7 October…)...I’m beginning to ask myself, what Hamas actually is accountable for on the 7 October vs Israel!...”

The “Palestinian hostages” to which Soomar referred are security prisoners who were convicted or were being held by Israel for terrorist activities.

On Saturday, October 7, 2023, approximately 2,900 heavily armed Hamas terrorists breached Israel’s border with Gaza. They executed numerous war crimes on civilians, including mass murder, beheadings of children, rape of men and women, torture, kidnappings and mutilation. Hamas broadcast videos of their butchery on social media, often to victims’ accounts for families to see. Israel retaliated with a war called “Swords of Iron.” As of November 10, 2023, over 1,200 Israelis, the vast majority of them civilians, were murdered during the attacks. Hamas kidnapped 242 Israelis, including at least 30 children. At least 3,500 people were wounded, many severely.

For more information on the October 7, 2023 terror attacks, see the Canary Mission page about Hamas.

On November 10, 2023, Soomar wrote in a LinkedIn post that during the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks, “Only 1 baby died and not confirmed…”

Spreading Anti-Semitism

On March 7, 2024, Soomar wrote on Instagram: “The zios were out in full force today!!!!” Her post featured a video from the anti-Israel protest being held outside the Toronto synagogue.

The term "Zio" is a common derogatory reference to Zionists, as well as an often-used anti-Semitic slur among white supremacists.

On January 26, 2024, Soomar posted on Instagram a graphic commemorating International Holocaust Remembrance Day. She wrote: “...guess what day it is in Canada tomorrow!! A genocide for a genocide… Except in the ‘an eye for an eye situation’...Why is Palestine paying for what Germany did?”

The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) highlights as one possible contemporary example of anti-Semitism: “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.” The U.S. State Department adopted the IHRA’s working definition of anti-Semitism in 2016. Over 40 countries have adopted the definition as well.

On January 13, 2024, Soomar posted on Instagram an image of the map of Germany with a red horizontal line dividing it in half. The word “Germany” was written on the top half, and “Israel” was written on the bottom half. Soomar wrote: “Two state solution? Given Germany and Israel are such good friends… This could be amazing for Germany (repentance) and Israel (safe existence without having to colonise)!”

The two-state solution envisions a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by dividing the land between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea into an Israeli Jewish state and a Palestinian Arab state.

Support for Terrorists

On March 2, 2024, Soomar led [slide 1] anti-Israel activists at the International Women’s Day march and rally in chanting: “Resistance is justified when people are occupied!”

Soomar also held a sign that featured a photo of terrorist Leila Khaled with text that read: “PALESTINIAN WOMEN ARE HEROES.” The rally took place in Toronto, Ontario.

Hamas leader and founder Khaled Mashal has called for the replacement of Israel with an Islamic state

At the rally, anti-Israel activists also held [slide 9] a banner with text that said: “Palestinian Women are Mothers of RESISTANCE.” Three inverted red triangles appeared over the last word.

The inverted red triangle is a symbol showing support for Hamas and Palestinian terrorism. It first appeared in propaganda videos produced by the Al-Qassam Brigades, the military wing of Hamas, during its terror attacks of October 7, 2023. The symbol was used by Hamas to signify one of their Israeli targets.

On February 26, 2024, Soomar posted on Instagram a graphic promoting the “Palestinian Contingent” at the International Women’s Day march in Toronto. The graphic featured a photo of Leila Khaled in the center.

On November 30, 2023, Soomar posted on Instagram a graphic that said: “After seeing the different hostages released over the past few days and how they [sic] greeting, hugging, smiling, handshaking with Hamas… I feel like I want to meet Hamas too…” Soomar wrote: “...Didn’t see any Mariah Carey fan videos as supportive as that....”

Hamas has been designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S., Canada, European Union, Israel and other countries. Founded in 1987, it has killed thousands of Israeli civilians through mass shootings and suicide bombings. Hamas has also kidnapped children, families and the elderly and held them hostage in Gaza. It has desecrated [slide 2] dead bodies and launched numerous rocket attacks against Israeli civilians.

In November and December 2023, over 100 Israeli women and children held hostage by Hamas in Gaza were released in exchange for Palestinian terrorists, leaving more than 130 hostages still captive. Hamas released propaganda videos showing hostages smiling and waving at their captors under duress.

BDS

The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement was founded by Omar Barghouti in 2005 to challenge “international support for Israeli apartheid and settler-colonialism.” BDS is an allegedly “Palestinian-led movement,” although leading BDS activists have admitted [00:01:01] this is not true.

One of the demands of BDS includes [point 3] what is generally known as the “right of return,” a demand discredited as a way to eliminate Israel. Barghouti said the “right of return” is a means to “end Israel’s existence as a Jewish state.”

Barghouti has said that BDS “aims to turn Israel into a pariah state, as South Africa once was.”

In his activism, Barghouti has also said [00:05:55] regarding Israel: “Definitely, most definitely, we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine. No…rational Palestinian, not a sellout Palestinian, will ever accept a Jewish state in Palestine.”

The movement has been linked to numerous terrorist organizations and received a public endorsement from Hamas in 2017.

BDS initiatives include calling on institutions and individuals to divest from Israeli-affiliated companies, promoting academic and cultural boycotts of Israel, and organizing anti-Israel rallies, protests and campaigns.

The movement’s most notable achievement has been the infiltration of university campuses through lobbying for “BDS resolutions.” In these cases, student governments and student groups, backed by their own anti-Israel members and affiliates, have proposed resolutions on some form of boycott of, or divestment from, Israel and Israeli-affiliated entities.

Boycott resolutions, although non-binding, have been passed by student governments on numerous North American campuses.

BDS activity is often aggressive and disruptive. It has been noted that universities that pass BDS resolutions see a marked increase in anti-Semitic incidents on campus. On one campus, when the student government debated a BDS resolution, reports emerged of violent threats against those opposing it.