(A7) A rock was hurled on Sunday morning at the window of Aleph Bet Judaica, a Judaica shop in Toronto, in the latest incident of antisemitism in Canada’s largest city.

Police confirmed that a rock was thrown at a business near Bathurst Street and Regina Avenue, adding that the Hate Crime Unit “was consulted and is aware.”

The incident marked the third time that the popular shop has had its windows smashed by rocks, but owner Moshe Joseph told The Toronto Sun that he would not be intimidated and will do what he did the last two times: Install a new window.

“This is not going to scare me,” Joseph said. “I have been in Canada for 49 years.”

He stressed he would not be going out of business because of any intimidation.

“We have been open since 1988,” Joseph told The Sun.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) commented on the incident, writing, “Another day, another attack. This time a Judaica store in Toronto, which has been targeted before.”

“Words are starting to lose meaning when this keeps happening.
We need urgent action from the authorities and all levels of government to safeguard communities and address the sources of the violence before lives are lost,” added CIJA.

Sunday’s incident at Aleph Bet Judaica came just one day after a male suspect attempted to force his way into an Orthodox synagogue in Thornhill, just north of Toronto, and assaulted a victim before fleeing the scene.

York Regional Police said the incident, which is being investigated as hate/bias motivated, occurred at approximately 9:30 a.m. at the Sephardic Kehila Centre, located on Bathurst Street, just north of Steeles Avenue West.

The synagogue serves members of the Jewish community of Sephardic heritage. Investigators said the victim was not hurt.

York Regional Police’s Hate Crime Unit is leading the investigation.

Toronto and the area have seen a sharp uptick in antisemitism since the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023.

Earlier this month, an unknown person armed with a handgun arrived at a Jewish-owned restaurant in Toronto and fired more than ten rounds at it, shattering the display window and causing damage as far back as the kitchen. No one was injured.

In early March, shots were fired at Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto Synagogue in Vaughan, just north of Toronto, one of the largest Orthodox synagogues in North America. No one was injured in the incident, though the building sustained damage.

In a separate incident that same night, Toronto police said shots were also fired at the Shaarei Shomayim Synagogue in the city. As in the earlier attack, no injuries were reported, but the synagogue building was damaged.

Days earlier, gunfire struck Temple Emanu-El in North York, as members of the congregation were marking the Jewish holiday of Purim. There were no injuries but the building was damaged.

Data released by the Toronto Police Service in May found that the city experienced a historic high in reported hate crime incidents in 2024, with the Jewish community, once again, being the leading target.

The federal government of Canada announced recently that it will allocate $10 million to help Jewish communities strengthen security at their institutions.