In the wake of a recent hate crime, members of a North York synagogue and its Hebrew academy are nervous.
Last month, a facility manager came across graffiti — a red swastika and the phrase, “Islam will rule” — scrawled across an outside wall of the Robbins Hebrew Academy, which is part of the Beth Tikvah Synagogue.
Though the graffiti was removed the next day, concern still lingers at the facility. “The combination of the swastika and the pro-Islamic message is confusing,” said Rabbi Jarrod Grover, of the synagogue. “They’ve led to a lot of speculation as to who is and who isn’t responsible.”
But he said the community is largely coping well.
“I think people are upset,” he said. “But they are united in their concern and in their sense that we’ll overcome this, and we’re not going anywhere. This is our home.”
He said the section of Bayview Avenue — near Finch Avenue —that houses the synagogue is a unique stretch, home to many different places of worship that usually coexist peacefully.
“You have a mosque, a Buddhist temple, churches of every stripe and denomination. It’s very unique, and we’ve all gotten along very well together. No matter which institution is a victim of this [crime], we’re all concerned.”
According to a recently released report done by the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism, antisemitic incidents are on the rise in the country and action is needed.
Const. Tony Vella, spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service, said the investigation is still ongoing.
“The hate crime unit is investigating,” he said. “But at this point, we have no leads.”
