Mayor John Tory is condemning a series of anti-Semitic notes found by Jewish residents at a Willowdale condo building over the weekend, saying that there is no place in the city for those who seek to divide Torontonians.
“Anti-Semitism has no place in Toronto. Our Jewish residents should not have to face hatred on their doorsteps,” Tory said in a statement Monday. “These acts, and the people who carry them out, do not represent Toronto or Torontonians.”
Toronto police said Monday that they are “concerned” about the notes.
Police spokesperson Mark Pugash told CP24 that while the city hasn’t seen a notable increase in hate crimes this year, they are taking the latest incident of a targeted attack “extremely seriously.”
“Every hate crime is concerning, not only to people on the receiving end but everyone in this city is concerned, as they should be,” Pugash said. “We take this extremely seriously, our investigators are very, very experienced.”
Post-it notes with pen-drawn swastikas were left on the doors of seven Jewish homes inside a building on Beecroft Road, located in the Yonge Street and Park Home Avenue area, Sunday night.
“No Jews” was written on some notes. Some of the notes also contained anti-Semitic slurs and some neighbours reported that their mezuzahs – blessings traditionally posted on the doorways of Jewish homes – had been vandalized.
One resident who recently came home to find her mezuzah vandalized said she was “shocked.”
“It’s naturally very disturbing,” Helen Chaiton said. “I come from the Holocaust – my parents came to Canada in 1948 after the war. So I’m very familiar with anti-Semitism and I know historically what ensues.”
Chaiton said her rabbi helped her post a new mezuzah today after hers was vandalized last week. Then on Sunday a neighbour knocked on her door to alert her to a disturbing note that was posted on his door.
“So this really is a very serious indication of the illness that is prevailing that’s resurgent now again,” Chaiton said.
It’s not clear who left the notes, though residents say they believe it may be someone who lives in the building. The building does not appear to have surveillance cameras in the hallways.
When asked about possible video surveillance in the area, Pugash said officers will look at all evidence to help identify a suspect.
“As soon as we have any other evidence, we will put it out,” he said.
While the incident is anti-Semitic, Pugash said investigators are looking to see if it meets the legal threshold of a hate crime – an offence that is defined on the Toronto police website as:
“A criminal offence committed against a person or property that is based upon the victim's race, national or ethnic origin, language, colour, religion, sex, age, mental or physical disability, sexual orientation, or any other similar factor.”
Responding to the incident Monday, UJA Federation of Greater Toronto President Adam Minsky called the notes “disturbing.”
“Like all acts of hatred and intolerance, these deliberate acts of hostility toward the Jewish community are completely unacceptable. There is absolutely no place for antisemitism – or any other form of hatred – in Canada,” Minsky said in a statement.
In the statement, Sara Lefton, vice president of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said the CIJA is monitoring the situation and has “full confidence” in Toronto police to safeguard the community.
The incident marks the second time in a week that Tory has had to condemn hateful actions in the city. On Friday the mayor condemned an anti-Muslim demonstration which took place outside a downtown Toronto mosque.
Tory said he will continue to work with other members of council “to ensure that the message is sent that there is no place for those who would seek to divide and to polarize Torontonians.”
