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Calgary police probe antisemitic graffiti |
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Written by Atara Beck
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Wednesday, 18 November 2009 |
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CALGARY-TORONTO – Police are investigating several antisemitic acts of vandalism in Jewish neighbourhoods that occurred Saturday night in Calgary at three major Jewish institutions and on homes, bus stop benches, fences and mailboxes, as well as a Toronto incident the previous night.
Swastikas and other antisemitic graffiti were discovered on Sunday morning in the southwestern section of Calgary at the Jewish Community Centre, including on its Holocaust memorial, and Congregation House of Jacob Mikveh Israel – both in Pump Hill – and at the Chabad House in Woodbine-Woodlands.
The Chabad House was spray-painted with messages such as ‘F**K You Kike,’ one observer said.
According to the organization’s Rabbi Dovid Altein, men who went to attend morning prayers on Sunday discovered the graffiti and immediately notified police. Surveillance cameras caught a young man in a hooded sweatshirt, with his face covered, committing the crime at about 11 p.m. The car he came in was parked too far from the cameras to capture.
“People were just so upset,” Rabbi Altein said. “The police came right away. They have been very helpful and are working really hard” to find the culprits.
“The police are taking it very seriously,” Judy Shapiro, community relations director for the Calgary Jewish Community Council, told the Jewish Tribune, although they have not labelled it a hate crime. “They’re calling it a very serious crime at the moment because they’re very careful about prejudging their investigation. They’re not deserving of criticism.”
One positive outcome was some very supportive phone calls received from people outside the Jewish community, she said.
“We want the police to aggressively treat it as a hate crime and make it a priority to bring those responsible to justice,” said Frank Dimant, CEO of B’nai Brith Canada.
“Too often, police forces are reluctant to treat these incidents as hate crimes and they simply let it slip by the side,” he said. “We don’t want that. The message has to be loud and clear that Canada will not tolerate hate crimes. We have seen a rise in the last decade in Canada. It’s risen dramatically. There have always been correlations with events that happen elsewhere in the world.”
In an unrelated incident in Toronto, five cars in a parking lot belonging to worshippers at the nearby Kolel Yismach Moshe, a Sephardic outreach centre, were spray-painted with antisemitic graffiti.
B’nai Brith Canada’s national anti-hate hotline is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and can be reached at 1-800-892-2624. |
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Last Updated ( Wednesday, 25 November 2009 )
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