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SASKATOON – Saskatoon’s Jewish community is “shaken” following a vandalism attack that interrupted morning prayer over the weekend.
The Congregation Agudas Israel Synagogue was egged in the middle of Saturday’s Shabbat service, according to the group’s co-president Robert Englebert.
“Let’s be clear: we were being targeted because we are Jewish,” he said.
On Tuesday morning, three days after the incident, broken eggshells still littered the ground, and one man could be seen cleaning streaks off the windows.
The building and cars in the parking lot were hit, according to Englebert.
He said the sound of the eggs pelting the synagogue could be heard by those praying inside.
“The sound is jarring when it is hitting windows,” he told CTV News. “There were children by the window. Children of our community were watching this happen.”
As a recent wave of antisemitic attacks play out way across the country, Englebert said the congregation is “very fearful” that more violence against the synagogue could follow.
“We can clean off the eggs, but it is not just eggs,” Englebert said. “We worry about what is next.”
Late last month, two Jewish-owned bakeries in Toronto were attacked, one being hit with gunfire. Toronto police are investigating the incidents as suspected hate-motivated crimes.
Meanwhile, officers in Winnipeg are investigating a suspected hate crime after a local mosque was shot at by using what is believed to be an airsoft or pellet gun.
Saskatoon Police Service told CTV News it is working with the Congregation Agudas Israel Synagogue to help them file a formal report of the incident.
Groups of all faiths from across Saskatoon are condemning the attack.
Derek Kerr, a captain at The Salvation Army Saskatoon Temple, said he could not believe an incident like this happened so close to home.
He said it is important everyone comes together, regardless of religion, to support the congregation.
“An attack on one group is an attack on all of us,” Kerr said. “No one should have to fear that they cannot go to their place of worship and feel safe and secure.”
Multifaith Saskatoon also expressed its “unwavering support” for the synagogue.
“We are deeply saddened that members of your congregation, especially the children, had to experience such fear in a place that should always be a sanctuary of peace, prayer and community,” Multifaith Saskatoon president Rashid Ahmed wrote in a Facebook post.
“There is no place for antisemitism, hatred or intimidation in Saskatoon or anywhere in Canada.”
The latest Statistics Canada data shows the Jewish community was targeted in 70 per cent of hate crimes related to religion in 2024.
Gustavo Zentner, vice-president of the prairie region for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said the public needs to make sure antisemitic attacks are not normalized.
“It is important to take a stand,” Zentner told CTV News. “It is important to respect our Canadian way of life and democracy and to not let extremism find its way or creep up amongst society.”
Saskatoon Mayor Cynthia Block denounced the vandalism in a statement posted to social media, and said the incident was “deeply troubling and has no place in our city.”
“To members of our Jewish community: please know that you are a valued and important part of our city,” the statement said.
“We stand with you and reject antisemitism in all of its forms.”
