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Jewish Institutions Hit by Hate Mail Calling for Expulsion from Canada

Antisemitic hate mail received by the Jewish Federation of Victoria and Vancouver Island on Feb. 16, 2018

Feb. 22, 2017

By Aidan Fishman
Interim National Director, League for Human Rights
B’nai Brith Canada

TORONTO – At least three Jewish institutions across Canada received antisemitic hate mail during the past week calling to “expel the Jews to the lake of fire,” B’nai Brith Canada has learned.

The letter, which also equates Jews with the “synagogue of Satan,” was sent to Jewish community centres in Windsor and Victoria last week, and the Forest Hill Jewish Centre in Toronto on Wednesday.

These latest incidents come on the heels of a similar outbreak in December, when at least 14 synagogues across Canada received swastika-laden letters threatening genocide against Jews.

 

Police in Toronto, Windsor and Victoria are investigating the most recent incidents. In December, Calgary police suggested that at least some of the letters were sent from southern Alberta, but the perpetrator has still not been identified.

B’nai Brith received notice of the hate mail deliveries from local Jewish officials, and advised them to contact police.

Michael Mostyn, Chief Executive Officer of B’nai Brith Canada, deplored the recurring pattern of intimidation and attacks on the Jewish community.

“Antisemitism has been called the world’s oldest hatred, and it sadly remains alive and well in Canada in 2018,” Mostyn said. “We trust that our police forces will be able to swiftly identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice.

“We urge anyone else who receives this disgusting letter to report it to police immediately, and then pass it along to us for inclusion in our Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents. We will continue our campaign to stamp out antisemitism and other forms of bigotry from this beautiful country.”

UPDATE – Feb 23: B’nai Brith Canada’s Quebec Regional Office received exactly the same hate mail as the three reported institutions. Montreal police have been contacted.