A Jewish rights organization is once again calling on all levels of government and all Canadians to do their part in curbing the rise of antisemitism in Canada following the vandalism of a synagogue and attacks against multiple businesses in a heavily Jewish community.
In the last week, Beth Tzedec congregation, a Jewish shul, was vandalized with pro-Hamas graffiti and several sites, including a Judeo-Christian Messianic temple and multiple businesses in Thornhill, Ont. were targeted in what B’nai Brith is calling antisemitic attacks.
Thornhill Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman blamed the government’s inaction for the crime wave.
“Defacing a kosher grocery store in Thornhill and the brazen vandalism on businesses in our community today are clear forms of intimidation and nothing more,” she said on X. “A government that accepts this as the new normal deserves to be defeated so that everyone can feel safe in this country.”
Rich Robertson, the research and advocacy manager at B’nai Brith Canada, echoed the point, calling on every Canadian to “stop the spread of antisemitism.”
“This recent spate of anti-Israel graffiti targeting Jewish institutions is the result of the devolution of a situation that has now been going on for months,” Robertson told True North. “B’nai Brith has repeatedly called on all levels of government to take more definitive action to stop the spread of antisemitism and the inciting anti-Israel rhetoric that is leading to these incidents, and sadly, we have not seen enough from our authorities.”
He said the Jewish community needs action before the incitement and antisemitic incidents escalate into person-targeted violence.
B’nai Brith is calling for “stronger investigations” that lead to charges being laid and successful prosecutions, a revamping of hate crimes legislation to better define antisemitism, stronger messaging from all levels of government and clarity from the attorney general when it comes to enforcing hate crimes.
“The Jewish community is feeling targeted. It is feeling ostracized. The repeated attacks and efforts to intimidate our community are unacceptable. Such instances should never be welcomed against any community here in Canada,” Robertson said. “It’s time for Canadian stakeholders to make that clear.”
Concerns were raised online that two fires on Jewish school property were part of the recent wave of antisemitic vandalism incidents, though Toronto police say they are unrelated.
Early Monday morning, a Jewish school bus with a sign written in Hebrew letters visible in the window was engulfed in flames. There was also a fire at the Leo Baeck Day School Tuesday morning that Toronto Fire Services put out.
“Both investigations are ongoing. The Hate Crime Unit has been consulted about both incidents, and there is no evidence that either were motivated by hate,” a Toronto Police Service representative told True North.
Police said the cause of the school fire was “undetermined, with no suspicious circumstances noted at the scene.” They said that the bus, which was out of commission and had been at the location for an “extended period of time,” was “destined for the scrap yard.”
Rebel News’ Ezra Levant isn’t buying the Toronto police statement, saying he has evidence to the contrary. Levant blamed the rise of antisemitism on Canada’s mass immigration policies.
“Canada has imported millions of antisemitic immigrants. Politicians want their votes, so they’ll abide this,” he said in a post on X Tuesday morning.
Before the police issued the statement, Liberal MPs Marco Mendicino and Ya’ara Saks released their own statements about the bus burning, believing it to be an antisemitic attack. Even so, Robertson isn’t putting much stock in their “platitudes.”
“The time for platitudes and commentary from our leaders at all levels of government has passed. The Jewish community needs action,” he said.
According to Statistics Canada, reports of antisemitic hate crimes were up by 71% in 2023 when compared to the previous year. Hate crimes against Jewish people made up 70% of all hate crimes based on religious background in Canada last year.
“It is an affront to Canadian morals and values and to our democracy that the Jewish community remains under such constant threat of intimidation and incitement,” Robertson said. “It must end immediately, and it’s up to every Canadian to do everything in their power to ensure that this situation does not digress any further.”