Tribune Staff
MONTREAL – Three separate incidents of vandalism against Jewish communal property were reported to B’nai Brith Canada’s Anti-Hate Hotline over the past few days.
B’nai Brith was first alerted by a caller to the series of six swastikas and the letters ‘SS’ spray painted on the back and side wall of the Zichron Kedoshim synagogue.
Following this incident, two other cases involving similar antisemitic graffiti were called into the organization’s 24/7 hotline. The Chai Centre Synagogue was vandalized overnight Friday with five spray-painted swastikas and three ‘SS’ symbols. A third case targeted the parking lot of the Jewish community centre. Each of these sites is in the Snowdon district, an area densely populated by an elderly Jewish community population.
“These three incidents bear striking similarities,” said Allan Adel, national chair of the League for Human Rights of B’nai Brith Canada. “All occurred within the span of one week and in close proximity to each other, in a neighbourhood that is densely populated by Montreal’s elderly Jewish population. They all featured Nazi graffiti designed to invoke fear in their victims.”
Last week, the League for Human Rights released findings of its 2005 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, which called for a strong community response to hate-related activity. In total, the Audit documented 133 reported cases of antisemitism in the province of Quebec, 127 occurring in Montreal, the city where the majority of Quebec’s Jews reside. Incidents in Montreal have increased by 62.8 per cent since 2001 when 78 cases were recorded.
Adel expressed his appreciation to the callers of B’nai Brith’s 24/7 Anti-Hate Hotline who first reported these incidents, thereby enabling the organization to detect trends and patterns of occurrence that the police might not have been aware of.
“We encourage all victims of antisemitism, whether in the classroom, the workplace, or via hate on the internet, to contact our emergency hotline at 1-800-892-BNAI or to file their report online by accessing B’nai Brith’s website at www.bnaibrith.ca.”
B’nai Brith met at the scene with representatives of the two synagogues, as well as the police investigator responsible for this inquiry. Law enforcement has assured B’nai Brith that they will devote every effort towards apprehending those who are responsible and preventing future cases of vandalism.
Michael Applebaum, the Mayor of Côte-des-Neiges-Notre-Dame-de-Grâce also announced that once the police have finished gathering their evidence, the borough will remove the graffiti from the synagogue walls. The graffiti at the Jewish community centre has already been removed.
Sun Youth announced on Monday morning that an anonymous French-Canadian businessman has posted a $3,000 cash reward for the arrest and conviction of those responsible for the incidents. This individual made the money available via the Sun Youth Organization, which is run by Sid Stevens who is Jewish.
Index | Letters to the Editor | Main Page | Op Ed | Photos
Send Letters To The Editor:
editor@jewishtribune.ca
This site hosted by:
vex.net
