View of the North York district of Toronto on Dec. 26, 2021 Photo by redtea via iStock

By Camillo Barone January 4, 2024

A rabbi who lives near a Toronto Jewish deli that burned in a fire police are investigating as a hate crime said the incident is the latest of many targeting the city’s Jewish community during the Israel-Hamas war.

“I’m the opposite of shocked. I’m not surprised at all. It’s all been building up to this,” said Rabbi Shmuel Neft of the Jewish Russian Community Centre-Rockford in the North York district of the city. 

Police responding to a call about a fire at International Delicatessen Foods Thursday found the blaze extinguished, and discovered graffiti in large letters spelling “Free Palestine” across the building’s rear entrance, along with broken windows. The extent of the damage from the fire was not clear.

Staff Supt. Pauline Gray told reporters that police are taking what appears to be a hate crime seriously and will make sure they “investigate, arrest, and prosecute” those responsible. 

Rising antisemitism

Neft said two other antisemitic incidents have occurred in the past six weeks in North York, home to a Russian Jewish community. He said someone had defaced with spray paint signs showing support for Israel that had been hung outside his synagogue, and that posters of Israeli hostages that read ‘Bring Them Home Now’ had also been damaged.

“What kind of a low form of human existence can you be if you are so outraged by innocent people being taken hostage? It makes no sense to me,” Neft said.

There has been a 211% increase in antisemitic incidents since the Israel-Hamas war began, compared to the same period in 2022, Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw said last month. He said antisemitic incidents account for 53% of the 105 hate crimes reported since Oct. 7. Between 180,000 and 20o,o0o Jews live in Greater Toronto, which has a population of more than 6 million.

Neft said twice in the last 18 months someone had tried to break into his synagogue. But he decided not to report the incidents to the police.

He added that his community has not been intimidated by the spike in antisemitism. Our motto since Oct. 7, when Hamas attacked southern Israel, he said, has been “louder, stronger, prouder.”

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