The following is via the National Post:
The greater Toronto Jewish community is disquieted and on the alert after three hooded men took photos and yelled threats outside a Thornhill synagogue.
York Regional Police received a call from Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto (BAYT) on Friday, according to Const. Laura Nicolle. That afternoon, alerts went out via email and social media from synagogues across the GTA.
“This past Wednesday night, three men with concealed faces were observed taking photos of BAYT,’’ read one alert posted to Facebook and viewed by more than 20,000 people. “When they were approached, they yelled “(Expletive removed) Jews. Watch!”, jumped into their black Volkswagen Golf and drove off. The car’s licence plates were covered. Unfortunately, they were out of range of the BAYT cameras. Please be alert when walking, especially near our shul, and be on the look-out for such vehicles and/or people.”
Janice Savage, a BAYT member for three years, said the synagogue has increased its security.
“It’s incumbent on all shul members to be vigilant — as the world we live in becomes more dangerous, the shul is responding to our new reality.”
Police cars were seen parked on Clark Avenue outside the synagogue all Saturday, as well as patrolling nearby York Hill Boulevard.
York region police said a BAYT security guard observed a car parked by a stop sign on York Hill Blvd., with two men nearby, at around 8 p.m. Wednesday. The guard believed they were possibly taking pictures of the security cameras.
“As security approached the men they got into the vehicle (and) fled the area,” said York Constable Andy Pattenden. ‘‘As they were driving away the guard believed he heard an offensive remark.”
Const. Pattenden confirmed they yelled “F— Jews,” but had nothing on record about the threat referred to in the email alerts.
The men wore hoodies that shielded their faces, and the licence plate covered with tinted plastic, rendering the guard unable to get the number.
York police are asking anyone with information to contact them.
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2 Responses
ISIS MUSLIM ANIMALS
I used to live in TO and davened at the BAYT at times. They used to have the balabatim volunteer as security on Shabbos in addition to the regular security. I would encourage the board to have the members stop this practice since they are not experts, are unarmed and chas v’sholom may be in harms way, especially during these turbulent times.