York Regional Police say they are investigating and their Hate Crime Unit has been notified after multiple businesses, a community centre and a place of worship were targeted with pro-Palestinian graffiti in a predominantly Jewish neighbourhood in Vaughan over the past 24 hours.
Images shared to social media showed “Free Palestine” scrawled on a messianic synagogue on Yonge Street in Thornhill, as well as a nearby Starbucks, a Sobey’s store, and multiple banks.
Police said they are investigating seven instances of graffiti at multiple locations in the area, which has a large Jewish community.
Images shared online showed one message referencing Nazis, while another scrawled “Free Palestine” in red lettering over a UJA sign which read “Proudly Jewish.”
“Targeting Jews because of the Mid East is pure antisemitism and only makes us more determined to stand up for our beliefs,” UJA Federation of Greater Toronto said in a post on X.
The group said the Vaughan Jewish Community Campus was also targeted with graffiti and they are coordinating with police.
In a separate post, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center posted images of the graffiti on X.
“These incidents are not random. This is a clear attempt to intimidate the Jewish community,” the group said.
Police services around the GTA have said that antisemitic incidents have skyrocketed since the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
Pro-Palestinian groups have maintained that their protests are not antisemitic. Still, some protests have targeted Jewish neighbourhoods and community spaces in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), including community centres, synagogues and businesses.
Meanwhile, Toronto police said a fire which broke out overnight at a Jewish school occurred in a shelter that was being used by a homeless individual and it is not believed that it was hate-motivated.
“The cause of the fire is undetermined, with no suspicious circumstances noted at the scene,” police said.
They said they are continuing to investigate.