“This Normalization Cannot Continue”: CIJA Responds to New Toronto Hate Crime Data

Toronto, ON – May 15, 2025 – Yesterday, the Toronto Police Services Board received the Toronto Police Service 2025 Annual Hate Crime Statistical Report, once again confirming that the Jewish community remainsdisproportionately targeted by hate in Toronto. 

Though Jews make up less than 3% of Toronto’s population, the Jewish community was the target of 82% of all religiously motivated hate crimes and 35% of all reported hate incidents in the city. A Jewish Torontonian is now 14 times more likely to experience a hate incident than any other resident of Toronto. 

Yet statistics alone cannot capture the reality facing the Jewish community. 

Since February, Toronto and the broader GTA have seen a disturbing escalation in both the frequency and severity of antisemitic attacks. Synagogues have been targeted with gunfire, Jewish-owned businesses have been vandalized and shot at, and individuals have been assaulted in public simply for appearing visibly Jewish. The TPS has even said that there has been a 24% increase in reported hate crimes compared to the same time last year.

In response to the findings, Michelle Stock, Vice President, Ontario, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), issued the following statement: 

“Toronto prides itself on being a city where people of all backgrounds can live openly, safely, and without fear. Those values are undermined when any community no longer feels secure expressing its identity in public. 

“These statistics are deeply alarming, but they reflect a broader reality that Jewish families across Toronto are already experiencing every day. From synagogues to schools to public displays of Jewish identity, blatant attacks against the Jewish community are becoming more frequent and more brazen.  

“Jewish Canadians are being targeted simply for who they are. No one should have to think twice about wearing a kippah, attending synagogue, sending their children to Jewish schools, or participating openly in Jewish life. 

“We are grateful to the Toronto Police Service and frontline officers for their continued efforts to respond to these incidents and protect vulnerable communities. But law enforcement cannot address this challenge alone. 

“Governments, law enforcement, and civic leaders must treat these incidents with the seriousness they deserve and ensure those responsible are identified and held accountable. This requires coordinated action to confront the growing threat of antisemitism, extremism, radicalization, and hate-motivated violence. 

“The safety and security of Jewish Canadians cannot become negotiable or conditional in our society.”