Like cities across the world that host Jewish communities, Toronto has suffered its share of antisemitic attacks since the Oct. 7 massacre. In 2024, gunfire pockmarked the same girls’ school three times. In March, three synagogues were attacked with gunfire. And over the course of the last few months, two restaurants belonging to the same chain were also shot at.
What all these cases had in common was the timing of the attacks: They all took place at night.
Two attacks over the weekend in Toronto marked a new height in the brazenness of attacks against Jewish institutions.
Saturday, in broad daylight, a man tried to force his way through a window of the Sephardic Kehilah Centre in Vaughan, a suburb of Toronto. Turned away by security, the man reportedly punched a father in the face while he was walking to the synagogue with his son. The man did not sustain any injuries.
A rock was hurled at Aleph Bet Judaica on Bathurst Street, a heavily Jewish area in Toronto, and it smashed through a window — also in broad daylight.
Both attacks occurred at around 9:30 a.m. So far, no arrests have been made.
The UJA Federation of Greater Toronto issued a statement about the synagogue attack, decrying the normalization of antisemitic attacks in Canada.
“We are relieved our community member was not seriously injured,” the statement read. “That does not lessen the seriousness of the attack, which reflects a continued pattern of antisemitic violence targeting our community.”
“As these incidents become more normalized, they erode public safety and our way of life as Canadians,” the UJA added. “This cannot be tolerated.”
B’nai B’rith Canada denounced “people in positions of authority” who have “responded with hesitation, weak enforcement, and political platitudes while Jewish communities continue to pay the price.”
The group released its statistics on antisemitic attacks in Canada in 2025: 18.6 incidents per day across the country, up 9 percent from last year.
While Canada is not alone in witnessing a sharp rise in antisemitic attacks, the surge and its attendant boldness is a grave cause for concern.
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