York Regional Police (YRP) are seeking two suspects who allegedly broke into and vandalized a commercial property in Markham, Ont., leaving anti-Semitic graffiti.
The incident took place around 2:40 a.m. on Jan. 10, when the two suspects broke into a commercial unit near Yonge Street and Doncaster Avenue, according to police.
“The suspects vandalised the property causing significant damage, and left anti-Semitic graffiti on the property,” YRP stated in a
press release on Jan. 13.
Police-released images show the suspects concealing their faces with masks and hoodies. YRP’s hate crime prevention unit is investigating and soliciting the public’s assistance in identifying the suspects.
“York Regional Police takes these matters seriously and is reminding the community we will not tolerate any form of hate crime,” police emphasized in the release.
The location of the vandalism has not been disclosed publicly. Two Jewish organizations, the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) for Holocaust Studies and the United Jewish Appeal (UJA), have both indicated in statements that it was an office for the kosher restaurant business La Briut.
This incident comes after two separate “
hate-motivated mischief” incidents
reported by Toronto police in December, involving the vandalism of a Toronto synagogue.
In the first instance, a suspect vandalized signs on the synagogue’s front lawn before escaping in a Ford pickup truck, according to police. On Dec. 20, another suspect targeted the same synagogue, once again vandalizing signs and fleeing in the same truck. Authorities suspect the same middle-aged male is responsible for both incidents.
Canada has witnessed a
670 percent surge in anti-Semitic incidents since Hamas launched an incursion into Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, as per an October 2024
report by the Israeli Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism. Numerous reports of vandalism, gunfire, and other violent threats against Jewish communities—including schools, businesses, and synagogues—have surfaced since the attack.
Recent incidents include the targeting of
Bais Chaya Mushka Elementary School, a Jewish girls’ day school in Toronto, which was hit by gunfire for a third time on Dec. 20, 2024. The school had previously been struck by gunfire last May and again in October.
On Dec. 18, 2024, just days before the Toronto school shooting, a synagogue and a Jewish community centre in Montreal were also targeted for the second time by incendiary devices, causing burns to the structure. The synagogue, located in Dollard-des-Ormeaux on Montreal’s West Island, is a recurring victim, having
previously been firebombed on Nov. 7, 2023.
The federal government has announced plans to hold a National Forum on Combating Antisemitism in February in Ottawa. To be co-chaired by the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Public Safety, the forum will address the growing public safety threat of anti-Semitism, according to a
Dec. 20 press release.
