Two armed assailants attacked a Jewish girls’ school in suburban Toronto, marking another incident of antisemitic aggression in Canada that has elicited strong reactions from both Jewish and political leaders.
The attack at Bais Chaya Mushka Elementary School in North York occurred at 4:52 a.m., fortunately without causing any injuries. Israel’s Consul-General in Toronto, Idit Shamir, reported that the gunmen fired five shots.
On the social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, Shamir expressed concerns about escalating violence due to a lack of deterrence against antisemitic incidents.
A video she shared, which gained significant traction on X, shows two individuals in black attire, alighting from a black vehicle driven by a third party, shooting outside the school’s fence before escaping.
The source of the video remains uncertain. Toronto Police Inspector Paul Krawczyk emphasized the police’s commitment to community safety and mentioned that the hate crime unit is involved in the investigation, though it’s premature to classify the shooting as a hate crime.
Toronto’s Mayor Olivia Chow described the event as a contemptible antisemitic act, stressing the need for Jewish children and families to feel safe, and noting increased police patrols around religious schools and synagogues.
Michael Levitt, president of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, urged immediate action from the city council and Mayor Chow to safeguard Toronto’s Jewish community, declaring a refusal to be intimidated.
Ontario Premier Doug Ford condemned the attack as a blatant exhibition of antisemitism and called for the perpetrators to be brought to justice.
Pierre Poilievre, the Federal Conservative Leader, labelled it as part of a continuing pattern of attacks on Jewish schools in Canada, urging the police to apprehend those responsible for this antisemitic hatred and violence.
