Police in Toronto are searching for 9 suspects wanted in a hate crime investigation after a group of Yeshiva bochurim, all students at Lubavitch Yeshiva, were assaulted.
According to police, on Sunday, November 11, at around 8:00PM, four Orthodox Jewish teens were walking at Fairholme Avenue and Bathurst Street area, when they passed another group of young persons, who were unknown to them. The group began shouting anti-Semitic slurs at the Jewish teens. They then assaulted two of the 17-year-old boys, punching and kicking them.
A pair of sunglasses was stolen from one of the victims, police say, and the suspects then fled the scene.
The Sun reports the group was told “Hitler was coming back”.
“They kept making fun of us for being Jewish,” one of the victims said. “They were yelling at me about Hitler and kept saying it. I was punched, kicked and they broke my glasses.”
“Two of us were wearing kippah’s and two fedoras (black hats),” said one of the victims. “I guess we stood out. We should not be beaten up because we are Jewish.”
Police responded quickly, and were able to make one arrest.
The victims of the assault received treatment for their injuries at the scene.
The outstanding suspects are described as being in their early teens.
The boys were able to “fend off anything serious,” but nonetheless, “they were very shaken up,” said Rabbi Akiva Wagner, rosh yeshiva of the school the four attend.
Toronto Mayor John Tory tweeted that nobody should be “attacked for their religion,” and asked for anyone with information about the incident to call police.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said it was “deeply disturbed” by what it described as the “vile assault on Jewish teens.”
“Jewish Canadians should never fear wearing their Kippah in public,” vice-president Noah Shack said in a statement, noting that his organization’s security team was in contact with Toronto police.
Police have no more information about the suspects’ descriptions, said spokeswoman Katrina Arrogante on Monday.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-1300, or anonymously through Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS.
No one should ever be attacked for their religion. Please help @TorontoPolice solve this hate crime/robbery investigation that occurred Sunday night. pic.twitter.com/cfxaW12iyy
— John Tory (@TorontosMayor) November 12, 2018
(Charles Gross – YWN)
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8 Responses
Toronto university campuses are known to be unsafe for Jews. Start there.
All because of Trump.
In Canada too?
What else were these yiddin wearing, besides yamulkas?
And why would it make it any less anti semitic if they weren’t wearing yarmulkas?
Wow, that’s scary, mamash the heart of the frum jewish community
Were the suspects minorities or whites?
galicianer, Trump is pro Israel. It is evident that the Democrats are mostly anti Israel as a result of Trump’s pro Israel polices and stances. The colleges are mostly anti Israel and pro BDS and Palestinian. The Woman’s March leader, Linda Soursor is pro BDS and virulently anti Israel and has been embraced by the Democrats. Obama posed in a picture smiling with Farrakhan a long with other members of the Black Caucus of the House of Representatives. Obama and the Democrats have not denounced Farrakhan. I can go on and on. Trump canceled the Iran Deal that gave $150 Billion to the state sponsor of terrorsim, Iran. Netanyahu begged Obama and congress not to pass the Iran Deal. The Democrats overwhelming spat in Netanyahu’s face and knowingly funded terrorists to annihilate Israel.
I am not surprised. Toronto looks more and more like ISIS occupied territory.
onlinescoop
You should be able to recognize sarcasm when it hits you in the face.