Courtesy of JTA. Photo credit: Flickr
Jewish institutions across Canada have faced an onslaught of bomb threats delivered through email
(JTA) — Multiple synagogues, Jewish community centers, and hospitals in Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa were targeted with an emailed bomb threat early Wednesday morning.
In response to the threat, sent in one mass email to dozens of institutions, Toronto Police evacuated buildings near an intersection in a heavily Jewish neighborhood.
A Jewish organization said that the threat is not credible, though it is still being investigated by Toronto, Montreal, and Royal Canadian Mounted Police. It comes just a few months after shots were fired at a Chabad-Lubavitch girls’ school in Toronto. Soon afterward, a synagogue in Vancouver was attacked. In November, shots were fired at two Orthodox Jewish day schools in Montreal. No injuries were reported in any of the attacks.
The emailed threat, which was obtained by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, claimed that “many explosives” had been placed in black backpacks and were “set to go off in a few hours.” The email does not specify whom it was targeting.
The Royal Canadian Mounted Police are leading the investigation and told JTA in a statement that they are working with local law enforcement.
“The RCMP is aware of threats made today to a number of institutions, including synagogues and hospitals, across Canada,” RCMP said in a statement. “Law enforcement is also engaging with faith-based leaders to ensure they have the information and support they need. We want to reassure the public that the safety and security of Canadians is our top priority. The RCMP can confirm that the Federal Policing National Security Program is investigating the source of the threats.”
A representative from the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, an affiliate of the Jewish Federations of Canada-UIA, told JTA in an email that “all indications point to these threats being nuisance emails designed to disrupt lives. There is no imminent threat.”
Identical emails had been sent en masse across India Tuesday, reaching hospitals and shopping malls.
“Jewish Canadians will not be intimidated — we will continue to take part in Jewish life,” CIJA said in a statement on social media. “We will stay vigilant, but we will never be intimidated.”
In a statement online, Jewish advocacy group B’nai Brith Canada said the email was “not just an attack on our safety — it’s an attack on the fabric of Canadian society.”
Michael Levitt, president and CEO of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, which combats antisemitism, called the threat “absolutely chilling” and said officials needed to take action.
“For many, many months, Canada’s Jewish community has raised alarm bells about the escalation of rampant Jew-hatred, as incitement and hateful rhetoric have become normalized online, on our city streets and on our university and college campuses,” he said in a statement. “Repeated calls for violence against Jews and Jewish institutions are a stark reminder that extremism and radicalization are thriving in Canada and must be confronted before it’s too late.”
