Fear of anti-Semitism in synagogues after a week of attacks on Jewish institutions

Members of Canada’s Jewish community expressed both concern and determination at Shabbat services on Saturday, following attacks on schools and religious institutions the week before that further fueled fears of a rise in anti-Semitism.

In Vancouver, the Shara Tzedeck Synagogue held its first service since the building’s front door was charred by arson on Thursday evening, police said.

Two police cars were stationed outside the synagogue on Saturday as worshipers entered through an entrance to the side of the ornate metal main doors, some of which were still cordoned off with police tape.

In the run-up to the morning service, worshippers expressed their shock at the attack but also expressed their firm intention to stand firm against it. Among them was Jeff Hayes.

“It is significant to come right after and show those who wanted to intimidate us that we will not be intimidated and that we are steadfast in our commitment to our religion and to Israel,” he said in an interview ahead of the service.

Hayes said he was not afraid of a possible attack, saying Thursday’s incident was “stupid” because people are so free to express their disagreements in other ways.

“Expressing oneself through violence and intimidation is a waste of democracy,” he said. “It is trivializing and taking for granted the blessings of democracy.”

Gidon Frame said the feeling of being attacked was not necessarily new, pointing to the long history of persecution of the Jewish people.

“We were shocked and appalled, but not surprised,” he said.

“It is always important to celebrate the Sabbath, but even more important when we are under attack,” he added.

The fire at the Shara Tzedeck Synagogue broke out days after shots were fired at a Jewish girls’ school in Toronto and bullet holes were discovered in a building in Montreal that housed a Jewish school and synagogue.

Politicians of all stripes strongly condemned the specific attacks and the general rise in anti-Semitism.

Numerous police forces have reported a rise in alleged hate crimes against Jews since the outbreak of the latest war between Israel and Hamas on October 7, and a report on anti-Semitism released last month by the advocacy group B’nai Brith Canada documented a massive increase in 2023. Based on incidents reported to B’nai Brith, including in cooperation with police, the report found that there were 5,791 documented acts of violence, harassment and vandalism against Jews this year, more than double the 2,769 incidents in 2022.

No one was physically injured in the three recent attacks on Jewish institutions, but the pattern of violence, added to several other targeted attacks in recent months, has shocked many members of the Jewish community.

“It has been a real challenge for our community and very disturbing and unsettling,” Phyllis Berck, a congregation member at Toronto’s First Narayever Synagogue, said Saturday.

She said many community members are concerned about safety, but that fear does not stop them from practicing their faith.

“Participation just seems to be a little higher and I think people are looking for that sense of community.”

This was the case on Saturday at First Narayever, where the pews were filled with congregants celebrating a bar mitzvah and praying for peace.

Edward Elkin, rabbi of the First Narayever Synagogue, said that while there is certainly disagreement about what Israel should and should not do, the community is universally appalled by the shooting in Toronto a week earlier.

He described the recent violence as an attempt to spread terror and cause enormous damage.

“It would be better for all of us if, despite all our differences of opinion about the things that are happening there and here, we could find a line in which we can express our disagreement in an acceptable way.”

He said he maintains his faith in human nature and tries to find a balance between knowing that these incidents sometimes happen frighteningly close to home and remembering that the community as a whole still lives in a safe place.

“We still feel that the vast majority of people among whom we live have our best interests at heart, and that we have our best interests at heart.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 1, 2024.

— By Brieanna Charlebois in Vancouver and Ian Bickis in Toronto.

The Canadian Press