The Ottawa police hate crimes unit is now investigating three separate incidents of vandalism that have targeted the city’s Jewish community this week.
The most recent attack was discovered early on Nov. 17, when anti-Semitic graffiti was found spray-painted on the side of modern Orthodox synagogue Machzikei Hadas, located on Virginia Drive in Ottawa’s Alta Vista neighbourhood.
READ: OTTAWA RABBI BLAMES TRUMP MINDSET FOR SWASTIKA ON HER DOOR
Police were notified around 7 a.m., after congregants attending early-morning services spotted two swastikas spray-painted on the synagogue’s front doors and another on a nearby sign, as well as offensive phrases on the building’s outer walls.
The synagogue’s security cameras were also spray-painted to prevent them recording the incident.
The attack came on the heels of one in the early hours of Nov. 15, when Rabbi Anna Maranta, leader of the city’s Glebe Minyan, woke up to discover a swastika and the anti-Semitic slur “kike” spray-painted on the door of her home, which is where the minyan meets.
The Ottawa Citizen also reported Kehillat Beth Israel, a Conservative synagogue located on Coldrey Avenue, confirmed Nov. 17 that it had been vandalized with anti-Semitic graffiti last weekend, and although shul officials had called the police, they had chosen not to publicize the incident.
Stuart McCarthy, co-president of Kehillat Beth Israel, told The CJN that late on Nov. 12, his synagogue was also targeted with what he called “anti-Semitic, white supremacist graffiti” on some of its doors and signs.
The shul chose not to go public with what happened, McCarthy said, because, “When vandals do this stuff, it’s often to get maximum attention and shock value. We didn’t want to give whoever did this the pleasure of that response. We also didn’t feel the need to unduly worry our congregants and cause alarm for what at the time appeared to be an isolated incident.”
He said the Ottawa Citizen appeared to have received a tip about the incident and called the synagogue Nov. 16 to confirm. The synagogue didn’t speak to the Citizen to confirm details until Nov. 17, after the Machzikei Hadas vandalism occurred.
Const. Marc Soucy, a spokesperson for the Ottawa Police Service, told The CJN that all three incidents are under investigation, and that it’s currently unclear whether they’re linked.
Hate crimes investigators are looking into whether all three can be determined to be hate crimes.
“We don’t know yet if it’s people playing pranks or if people are really targeting the Jewish People,” Soucy said.
Rabbi Idan Scher, spiritual leader of Machzikei Hadas, released a written statement on the synagogue’s website several hours after the incident, assuring community members that the congregation “has detailed protocols in place for such matters… and we are working to have this hateful graffiti removed form our premises as quickly as possible.”
He said the synagogue will assist police in their investigation and will add additional security to the premises in time for Shabbat. Services and programs at the shul will continue without interruption, he said, stressing “the safety and security of our congregation is always our top priority… We will not be intimidated by this cowardly act.”
Rabbi Scher also noted the vandalism had included the phrases “kill kikes” and “save the white race,” and that the Jewish Federation of Ottawa and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) have been notified.
In a statement, federation president and CEO Andrea Freeman said “there is deep concern in Ottawa’s Jewish community” about the incidents and that the police are taking them “very seriously.”
She added: “These acts of cowardice are an affront not just to the Jewish community, but to all Ottawans and Canadians who share our core values of respect, tolerance and kindness. We have received an outpouring of support from Ottawa communities of many beliefs and denominations and from our elected officials. It is reassuring to know they join us in standing up against all acts of racism, anti-Semitism and bigotry.”
Ottawa Mayor Jim Watson quickly took to Twitter after the Nov. 17 incident at Machzikei Hadas was reported, writing, “These cowardly acts are completely unacceptable in our city and society.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also tweeted his support: “To the Canadian Jewish community: I stand with you. Our government denounces recent acts of anti-Semitism in the strongest terms.”
Rabbi Maranta posted a photo of her defaced door on Facebook shortly after the incident along with a press release that began: “This. This is what has been unleashed by the American President-Elect, and those that support them.” She told The CJN earlier this week that she believes that U.S. president-elect Donald Trump’s “a message of hate” during the recently concluded U.S. election, has “emboldened people who hold these beliefs to act more in a public way.”
Hate crime expert and former Canadian Jewish Congress head Bernie Farber responded on Facebook to Rabbi Maranta’s statement, asking his followers to “wait until the police have completed the investigation before any further comment is made.”
Ottawa South Liberal MP David McGuinty condemned the Glebe incident in the House of Commons Nov. 15, while B’nai Brith Canada and the Ottawa federation also issued statements.