‘Brazen antisemitism’: More mezuzahs stolen in Toronto, police probe potential hate crime

For the second time this month, mezuzahs affixed to the doorways of Jewish homes in Toronto have been stolen in what police say they are investigating as a potential hate crime.

Just after noon on Dec. 25, the Toronto Police Service was notified of four mezuzahs that were taken from door frames for four condo units in a building on Bayview in the suburban neighbourhood of North York.

A mezuzah is a small tube affixed outside and often within the home that holds a prayer scroll.

A spokesperson told National Post via email that an investigation is already underway and the TPS hate crime unit has been notified.

“This is the first time officers have been called to this location for this type of incident,” the spokesperson wrote.

In early December,

a similar incident occurred at a nearby community housing building

, where about 20 mezuzahs, mostly belonging to seniors from the Russian Jewish community, were removed or vandalized.

That incident is still under investigation. It’s not immediately clear if the two are connected.

Resident Nate

Leipciger, a Holocaust survivor, didn’t have his mezuzah stolen, but said the incident made him feel like his “skin was invaded.”

“T

his invasion of our privacy is very disturbing,” the 97-year-old told National Post in a telephone interview.

“Time does not eliminate the horrors of the past and this is just a small reminder of what happened and a warning of what can happen again.”

Leipciger, who was a boy in Poland when the Germans invaded, worries that the world is not truly aware of the coordinated effort to foster antisemitism.

He fears, too, how “the insidious force that invades our homes and our families,” will affect his nine grandchildren and 12 great-grandchildren, to whom his advice is to stand up for Jewish rights.

“We can only hope that people will join us in our fight against hatred and that the whole world will realize that we are the first stage, but not the last,” he said.

Another resident, Shirley Anne Haber, founder of the Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation, said in a statement she could see the trauma in the eyes of her affected neighbours.

“These women were terrified and felt violated by this act, which brought back memories of Holocaust atrocities and they see a repeat of terrible things of the 1930s happening in Canada,” she wrote 

City councillor James Pasternak said such acts are indicative of the fomented hate in the city, “often a result of the incitement from the mobs on the streets and online hate.”

“There must be a universal condemnation of these acts. And there must be consequences. The chants on the streets and the feeling of lawlessness is leading Toronto to the abyss,”

he wrote.

Staff from the United Jewish Appeal Federation of Greater Toronto are said to be assisting residents and will gather them together for an afternoon Shabbat service.

In its statement condemning both incidents, B’nai Brith Canada said their growing frequency reflects the increasing normalization of antisemitism and sends a clear message.

“The intent of the perpetrators is clear, Jews are not welcome and do not belong in our communities,” it wrote on X.

“When incidents like this are minimized or grouped together, the true scale of antisemitism is obscured.”

The Jewish human rights organization stressed that accurate reporting is essential to ensure cases are properly dealt with and touted the effectiveness of its anti-hate app, webform and hotline, which have “led directly to police action and charges being laid against antisemitic actors.”

B’nai Brith Canada has been alerted to yet another incident of antisemitic hate in Toronto, where mezuzot were once again deliberately removed from the doors of Jewish residences.
The increasing frequency of such disgusting acts speaks to the normalization of antisemitism in… pic.twitter.com/G5HeaFKiA0

— B’nai Brith Canada (@bnaibrithcanada) December 26, 2025

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs also decried what it called “another brazen antisemitic act.”

“Law enforcement and governments at all levels must act with urgency to protect Canadians and ensure accountability for offenders,” Josh Landau, CIJA’s director of Ontario government relations, wrote in a statement.

TPS data show

 that hate crimes against Jews made up the largest single group, with 177 reported incidents in 2024, 19 per cent more than 2023. It also found that the Jewish community, while representing less than four per cent of Toronto’s population, was the target of 40 per cent of reported incidents.

“Mischief occurrences” made up most of the hate crimes levelled at Jews, with 148 reported incidents, and anti-Jewish mischief-related hate crimes made up a third of all hate crimes in 2024.

Leipciger is hopeful authorities will seek out and prosecute not just the latest perpetrators, “but also go after the possible cells that are in our midst that have been funded and organized by outside forces.”

Haber, meanwhile, said Jewish people don’t feel the problem is being addressed by Canadian leaders.

“Our prime minister, our premier, our mayor — why are they allowing terrorists to remain in our country? Why are the police not taking a more active role when people violate our hate laws? It’s time to change attitudes.”

• Jewish seniors replace stolen prayer scrolls after 20 ripped from Toronto building’s doorways
• Matthew Taub: Two years of inaction have normalized hate crimes in Toronto

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.

Source link