{"id":523142,"date":"2026-03-08T19:58:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-08T19:58:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/523142\/"},"modified":"2026-03-08T19:58:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-08T19:58:23","slug":"canada-at-a-crossroads-jewish-groups-call-for-action-after-3-synagogues-hit-by-gunfire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/523142\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Canada at a crossroads\u2019: Jewish groups call for action after 3 synagogues hit by gunfire"},"content":{"rendered":"

The leaders of several Jewish organizations in the Toronto area are calling for urgent action after three synagogues were hit by gunfire in the past week.<\/p>\n

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\u201cCanada is at a crossroads,\u201d said Noah Shack, CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA). \u201cWe\u2019re not going anywhere, and we need every Canadian of conscience to stand up with us for our fundamental Canadian values so that we can ensure that the Canada, the Ontario, and the city of Toronto that we want to see in the future comes to fruition.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shack\u2019s words come after police responded to three separate incidents of shots fired at synagogues this week, two of which happened this weekend.<\/a><\/p>\n

York Regional Police said they responded at about 11:49 p.m. Friday to reports of shots fired near Clark Avenue and York Hill Boulevard in Thornhill, Ont., the location of the BAYT Synagogue. No injuries were reported, but police said the building sustained some damage.<\/p>\n

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A short time later, Toronto police said they were investigating a firearm discharge reported shortly after midnight near Bathurst Street and Glencairn Avenue, the location of the Shaarei Shomayim Congregation.<\/p>\n

Police responded to reports of gunshots at about 12:08 a.m. Saturday and found bullet holes in the front door. No injuries were reported.<\/p>\n

Toronto police were also called to Temple Emanu-El Synagogue<\/a> in North York on Monday evening at about 10:50 p.m.<\/p>\n

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Officials said the building was damaged, but again no injuries were reported. Toronto police did not offer a suspect description.<\/p>\n

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Speaking at a news conference on Sunday alongside Shack, police officials, and politicians of all levels of government, federal Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree promised action.<\/p>\n

He said the government would work strengthen laws to ensure hate is \u201cpunished\u201d and \u201cthose who espouse hate are held to account.\u201d He also said they\u2019d change requirements for infrastructure funding that are \u201ccritically important\u201d for Jewish and other community buildings.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is unacceptable, this is the third synagogue within the last week to be targeted,\u201d Anandasangaree said. \u201cThe forms of anti-Semitism we see that\u2019s turning into violence is not the Canadian way. We will not tolerate this and this has to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ontario Solicitor General Michael Kirzner stressed he will push to get Bill 75, known as the \u201cKeeping Criminals Behind Bars Act,\u201d through the legislature. The bill has been touted by the Ford government to tighten bail requirements and \u201chold offenders accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Kirzner, who is Jewish, told reporters on Sunday that the incidents at the three synagogues \u201cbreaks my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cA threshold of decency has been crossed,\u201d he said. \u201cA threshold that goes to the vibrancy of Canadian values, of tolerance, of friendship, and of decency has been crossed.\u201d<\/p>\n

Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw spoke about the ongoing investigation, saying its integrated gun and gang task force was working alongside other specialized teams on the probe.<\/p>\n

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He urged anyone with information, video or \u201cany snippet\u201d to contact police or Crime Stoppers.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis violence must stop,\u201d Demkiw said. \u201cWe are going to be relentless and leave no stone unturned and every resource necessary will be brought to bear to continue to advance all of our efforts. We will follow the evidence and we will do everything within our powers to hold those responsible accountable.\u201d<\/p>\n

The chief said as it\u2019s a very active file, there is no information at this time as to whether the three incidents were connected or if any suspects have been identified. However, he said when information is available it will be provided.<\/p>\n

He added police would also continue increased patrols and visits throughout the community, including at the synagogues that were struck.<\/p>\n

York Regional Police acting chief Kevin McCloskey added there\u2019s no evidence to suggest the incidents are related or perpetrated by the same people.<\/p>\n

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\u201cBut again, as Chief Demkiw said, we can\u2019t ignore the fact that they happened so close to each other and that both targets were in fact synagogues,\u201d McCloskey said. \u201cObviously we are looking at that connection and hope to be able to determine whether they are or are not related as soon as possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked what is being called for by Jewish organizations, Shack said he\u2019d like governments to consider various actions.<\/p>\n

\u201cBuilding up the security infrastructure to keep people safe is just the bare minimum threshold that we need to meet,\u201d Shack said. \u201cThere is a need for focused initiatives to push back against the kind of hate and intimidation, harassment and violence that we\u2019re experience that go beyond just physical security.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014with files from Global News\u2019 Prisha Dev and Isaac Callan<\/p>\n

\n\t\t&copy 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The leaders of several Jewish organizations in the Toronto area are calling for urgent action after three synagogues…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":523143,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[194291],"tags":[49,48,2169,189200,206135,3302,79076,205579],"class_list":["post-523142","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-toronto","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-crime","tag-hate-crime","tag-synagogue","tag-toronto","tag-toronto-police","tag-yrps"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523142","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=523142"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/523142\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/523143"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=523142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=523142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=523142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}