The Toronto police hate crimes unit is investigating after a local shul was vandalized for the second time in four weeks. Kehillat Shaarei Torah in the city’s north end was targeted in the early hours of Friday morning, with windows and glass doors smashed.
Rabbi Yosef Kanofsky, who leads the shul, condemned the attack, noting that it was previously vandalized in late April, with no injuries reported in either incident. He praised the quick response of the police, who collected surveillance video from the scene.
The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center denounced the attack on social media, expressing horror at the repeat incident. “Jews deserve to feel safe at their places of worship, and not be targeted with such acts of violence,” the organization wrote.
Following the April attack, the shul took proactive measures by purchasing reinforced windows and improved lighting. However, the upgrades have not been installed yet.
The April attack also made the shul eligible for a fast-tracked federal grant, known as the Severe Hate-Motivated Incident Support program. This program offers expedited funding with reduced paperwork and is distributed on an ongoing basis. The shul applied for a grant ranging from $50,000 to $75,000 last week. Although the regular SIP grant program expired at the end of March, Canada’s 2024 federal budget allocated an additional $1 million to the program, bringing the total to $21.5 million. It’s important to note that federal grants only cover 50% of the costs, and matching funds are required from the institution. To address this, the shul launched a fundraising campaign which has raised over $35,000 so far.
The attacks on the shul are part of a larger trend of increasing anti-Israel riots and acts of antisemitism in Toronto since the start of Israel’s war against Hamas on October 7. Recent incidents include the vandalism of an Indigo book store, a Jewish-owned grocery store, and posters depicting kidnapped Israeli children.
Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw reported a surge in hate crimes since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, with over half targeting the Jewish community.
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2 Responses
Trudeau let millions of Muslims pire in. Of course it’s a hate crime. This is what kind of policies Democrat Jews vote for.
this isn’t the result of “millions”, just one. what’s worrisome here is that it’s the second incident, and the police have neither caught the perp nor deterred his buddies.