Overnight on Friday, the Shaarei Shomayim and Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto synagogues in Toronto were struck by gunfire. JNS reports that there were no injuries or fatalities, though police found moderate damage from bullet holes.
The Fellowship feels this anti-Semitic attack personally. Such incidents are increasing worldwide, and Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto is the synagogue of IFCJ Canada Board Member Rabbi Daniel Korobkin. Fortunately, neither he nor his congregation were present at the time of the attack.
Police further noted that they were investigating whether the incidents were connected, and recognized that the incidents must be “deeply concerning” for the city’s Jewish community.
Sharren Haskel, the Toronto-born Israeli deputy minister of foreign affairs, denounced the shootings as “anti-Semitic terrorism” in a statement late Saturday night in Israel.
“Since October 7, anti-Semitism has exploded across Canada and around the world. Jewish communities are under siege and governments at every level must do more to protect the Jewish community,” she said.
Anti-Jewish terror is a “result of a global failure to confront anti-Semitism and the hatred directed at the Jewish people,” Haskel tweeted, adding: “There is only one place in the world where Jews can truly guarantee their safety and defend themselves and that’s in Israel.”
B’nai Brith Canada also stated that the targeting of Jewish institutions must not become normalized. Meanwhile, Toronto Police are investigating whether the two shootings are connected. This attack on the Sabbath comes just days after another synagogue in Toronto was targeted on March 2 and several bullet holes were found in its front windows.
Jewish communities around the world are experiencing increased anti-Semitism during this time of heightened division and tension. The Fellowship and our supporters continue to pray and call for all to support the Jewish people in their time of need.