Toronto synagogue pelted with stones, glass panels shattered

A Toronto synagogue was pelted with stones, smashing glass panels above the doors, Canadian politicians and Jewish groups said on Sunday.

B'nai Brith Canada said that police were investigating the throwing of stones at the Pride of Israel Synagogue as a potential hate crime.

Ontario solicitor general Michael Kerzner visited the site, sharing a video in which he condemned the vandalism to the backdrop of the damage.

I was shocked to see a local synagogue, The Pride of Israel, attacked earlier this morning by vandalism. Any attacks on houses of worship are completely unacceptable. We pride ourselves on our diversity and tolerance. Hate has no place in our Ontario! pic.twitter.com/aRTyyEzMFH

— Michael Kerzner (@MPPKerzner) June 30, 2024

"Any attacks on houses of worship are completely unacceptable. We pride ourselves on our diversity and tolerance," Kerzner wrote on social media. "Hate has no place in our Ontario!"

Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center president and CEO Michael Levitt said on X that because of the incident the Canada Day weekend was "not a happy one" for Jews of Canada.

Devastating to see another synagogue in Toronto vandalized and desecrated, this time the Pride of Israel in North York. This Canada Day weekend is not a happy one for Jews in Canada, not at all! @TorontoPolice Hate Crime Unit has been notified and is investigating. pic.twitter.com/ymRFMWhXqG

— Michael Levitt (@LevittMichael) June 30, 2024

Similar attacks on Canadian Jewish institutions

Similar attacks on Canadian Jewish institutions

The incident is the latest in a string of attacks on Jewish institutions in Canada, and in the greater Toronto area in particular.

On June 1, a man was arrested for smashing a Toronto synagogue's window with a rock. He was arrested two days later. Shots were fired at a Toronto school on May 25.

The Toronto Kehillat Shaarei Torah synagogue’s windows were smashed on May 17 and April 19, and another in the same area had its signs set on fire on April 26 and April 28.

Elsewhere in the province, a London Synagogue's window was smashed on June 13. A rock was found near the shattered glass.

“It is out of control, and must stop,” B'nai Brith Canada Chief Operating Officer Judy Foldes said in a Sunday statement. “We implore police forces to monitor Jewish institutions closely and vigilantly during this troubling time for Jewish Canadians.