Canadian Synagogue Targeted with Swastikas and Anti-Jewish Symbols

(JTA) — Drawings of swastikas and other symbols were drawn in chalk on the grounds of a Canadian synagogue in Ontario.

The drawings, which were found in four spots at Beth Jacob Synagogue in Hamilton, were discovered Saturday morning when the rabbi arrived for Torah study before Shabbat services, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported. The graffiti also included the word Jews with a line drawn through it.

Rabbi Hillel Lavery-Yisraeli told Canada’s Global News that surveillance camera footage showed four teenagers drawing the graffiti on Friday night.

The Hamilton Police hate crimes unit is investigating.

Lavery-Yisraeli said the synagogue hired a security guard after last October’s attack on the Tree of Life synagogue building in Pittsburgh killed 11.

Hamilton Mayor Fred Eisenberger is scheduled to visit the synagogue during Yom Kippur services.

The Global News reported that hate crimes and hate/bias incidents reported to Hamilton Police in 2018 targeting the Jewish community rose by 25 percent over 2017.