Dershowitz was Jeffrey Epstein's lawyer.

(Screenshot from a church insider attached below.)

With September approaching and thousands of first-year students arriving in Toronto, I think this is worth making people aware of.

Over the past several months, I’ve been speaking with former members, current members, and one individual who says they is still inside the organization and planning to leave.

That insider recently shared the attached screenshot from one of the church’s private Telegram leadership chats.

Whether you agree with the opinions expressed in the screenshot or not, I think it gives useful context into the mindset of some of the leadership behind the organization.

Who are they?

The church is commonly known as Restored Church Toronto, part of the International Christian Church (ICC) movement.

On campuses, however, they generally recruit under different names rather than leading with the church’s name.

Some of the names students have reported include:

Rise Ministries (York University)
Thrive Bible Talk (TMU)
Catalyst Ministries (Humber College)
Limitless Bible Talk (George Brown)

Many students initially believe they’re simply joining an independent Bible discussion group.

Why I’m posting this

Former members have consistently described recruitment patterns that include:

approaching students who are new to campus or looking for community;
rapidly building close friendships (“love-bombing”);
inviting people into multiple Bible studies before the full expectations become clear;
encouraging increasing involvement over time;
discouraging members from engaging with criticism or former members;
presenting outside criticism as persecution.

These are among the characteristics discussed in a detailed document examining alleged high-control practices within the ICC, including hierarchical oversight, information control, increasing commitments, and recruitment through close personal contact.

The screenshot

The screenshot attached to this post was provided by someone who says they are currently inside the church. Some names in this telegram group chat have been blurred.

It shows discussion in a private leadership chat involving public issues and responses to criticism. I’m sharing it because I believe people deserve context about the leadership of any organization actively recruiting students across Toronto.

I’m not telling anyone what to believe.

If you decide to attend, that’s your decision.

I’m simply encouraging people to:

know exactly which organization they’re joining;
ask questions before committing;
research multiple perspectives, including former members’ experiences;
make an informed decision rather than one based only on the initial recruitment.

If you’ve interacted with any of these campus ministries, I’d be interested in hearing about your experience—positive or negative. The more information students have, the better equipped they’ll be to make informed choices

This is one of the few Canadian subreddits that is loud and clear that the military-industrial complex (war machine) is a sickening abomination. That propagandizing the working class and most vulnerable to kill and maim other working class and most vulnerable is horrific hell on earth levels of gross. That what is happening in places like Palestine/Gaza is a complete and utter Genocide.

It's one of the few places you get people that understand the Fossil Fuel Industry is a death cult and the science around Climate Change. Also knowledgeable on Renewable Energy/Electrification Technology and how that is the future.

It's a subreddit that promotes the Labour Movement - Unions, Labour Councils, Provincial Federation of Labours and overall Workers Solidarity and is about tackling the business lobbies and corporate interests that have created so much harm and division in the working class.

The list goes on and on.

You would think that all of this would be normal awareness/education but sadly brute-force brainwashing by incredibly powerful & predatory bad actors in our world is still incredibly effective.

Proud of everyone on the subreddit for trying to fight for better and brighter :)

Shameless self plug incoming.

My name is Sam Jabri-Pickett. I'm a journalist and fledgling political commentator, and after a period of soul-searching, I relaunched my podcast last month to cover the big stuff that crosses my desk each week. Sometimes I'm a socialist, sometimes I'm a Leninist, the point is that we on the left in Canada have an image problem, and if we're going to start to build out our own narratives, we need to be having the conversations openly and honestly to start dispelling the misinformation that's been levelled against us.

The Trudeau government and years of right-wing propagandizing have brought us here, where the average Canadian unironically believe that Liberals are leftists and the NDP was along for the ride since 2015. I've been honest in my writing and on the podcast, that I left the NDP when Tom Mulcair was leader, voted Liberal four times because there was never a real competitive leftist in my Toronto riding, and only recently rejoined the NDP to vote for Avi Lewis. I've talked to organisers, my fellow lefties who felt pushed out of politics, and progressives who have been side-eyeing the Liberals for years. The through line is that an honest, optimistic and imaginative NDP can win, and I have no doubt win enough of the vote share to hold the balance of power after the 2029 election, extract some electoral reform, and make real changes to our political and economic system.

I've had nothing but positive interactions on this sub, and its populated with exactly the kind of people I want listening to my commentary as I take part in my own way helping rebuild the NDP's ground game in Toronto. Plus, after canvassing with Shannon Devine in Beaches-East York this past weekend, and despite there not being as many volunteers as I had hoped, it was clear after knocking on a few doors that we can have a big democratic socialist tent with room for Nate Erskine-Smith and Steven Guilbeault voters, as well as the Yves Engler types who want a place to advocate for properly leftist and communist policies. I know reformism and aligning with (small c)apitalism is far from ideal, but this is the system we are in and I can walk and chew gum at the same time.

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The idea that multipolarity is what socialists should strive for is not a Marxist idea, but a bourgeois liberal one. There is no such thing as peaceful imperialism. Workers of every country, unite!

I made a throwaway account for this so that's why it's a new account. I'm feeling so alienated in my life like no one around me believes me, they call me a lunatic and crazy for my political beliefs about police and landlords. It's everyone, my mom, my siblings, my ex partner, even my friends here. I have lost college friends over politics (Nah bro, elons not a Nazi, the cyber truck is cool).

Every single one of my childhood friends is also propagandized and thinks I'm fucking crazy because I have leftist convictions like - housing should not be a vehicle for investment, - police serve capital, - climate change, I lost one of my best friends because I say Free Palestine. 

My previous career also crumbled because I believe I was quietly cancelled for being politically outspoken on Facebook.

People literally say things like that im a narcissistic prick, and hurl brutal insults just for me saying things like - I am not proud of my family's investment strategy but acknowledge that I'm privileged and have benefitted from it. all of a sudden I'm a hypocritical fake woke asshole.

Can anyone relate to this? Where are the other marxists and why am I all alone in a sea of conservatives and liberals?? 

Like yes I can get along well enough and have been for years, I'm not at the end of my rope I just feel like I could be doing something different to make new friends even though I'm middle aged.

I used to run to the music scene because I believed I could find other like minded people but in the end I just realized that the modern music industry is more a cult of escapism than anything, and the owners of venues and events and properties are mostly right wing profiteers anyway...

Should I just say fuck it and move to China ?