We need leadership and action to keep Toronto Jews safe
Toronto, ON – October 15, 2024 – Today, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) is calling on Mayor Olivia Chow to work with the provincial government to develop an actionable plan to make this city safe for Jews once and for all.
To restore law and order, CIJA urges Mayor Chow to:
- Provide sustained funding and resources necessary for police to restore public order.
- Deliver clear directives and enhance training for law enforcement, Crown Prosecutors, and the judiciary regarding antisemitism, how to recognize it, and appropriate responses to incidents of antisemitism, including thorough investigations of suspected hate crimes and laying of criminal charges.
- Empower police to make arrests for hate crimes.
- Push municipal bylaw officers to ticket protesters who have broken bylaws.
- Pass a bylaw to protect vulnerable social infrastructure, including places of worship, schools, childcare facilities, and hospitals from demonstrations and protests, similar to the example set by the city of Vaughan, which passed their bylaw in May.
- Work with the provincial government to develop a bilateral enforcement strategy to combat antisemitism and hate.
CIJA’s community engagement campaign activating Ontario’s Jewish community and allies to send emails to Mayor Chow and Solicitor General, Minister Michael Kerzner, can be found here.
CIJA’s Vice President – Ontario, Michelle Stock, released the following statement sharing the community’s call to action:
“This weekend, for the second time, Bais Chaya Mushka School for Girls was shot at by individuals wishing to stoke fear in the Jewish community – a community that, for the past 374 days, has lived with a sense of dread and a heavy weight of worry about whether or not we can be safe here in Toronto.
“Less than two weeks ago, Toronto’s Police Chief Myron Demkiw relayed the staggering stats about what a year in the life of Toronto’s Jewish community looks like. Antisemitic hate crimes have risen by more than 75% since just a year ago. The police have had to manage more than 1,500 protests. Our schools, our places of worship, our community centres, and our neighbourhoods have had to be regularly patrolled or command centres set up to deter violence and hate from infiltrating our communities. All of this has happened under Mayor Chow’s watch.
“After a year of inaction, Toronto’s Jews have had enough.
Enough of being scared to send our children to school.
Enough of needing police protection to attend synagogue.
Enough of tucking away our Magen David necklaces when we go shopping downtown.
Enough of hearing genocidal chants on our streets.
"And, more than anything, we've had enough of politicians who claim to be allies, who say that "hate has no place in our city, province or country," who show up at rallies after our businesses are vandalized, our synagogues are set on fire, or our schools have been shot at. And yet – even with the ability to make a difference – they do nothing to prevent this violence.
"Today, we say enough is enough.
“We call on Mayor Chow to work with the provincial government to develop an actionable plan to restore law and order and make this city safe for Jews once and for all.”
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