Calgary Man Who Made Online Threats to Jewish Groups Sentenced

The Calgary Courts Centre on March 11, 2019. (The Canadian Press/Jeff Mcintosh)

A Calgary man who posted threats to Jewish community groups shortly after the Oct. 7 attack on Israel has been sentenced.

Mohamad Ghandour was given a suspended sentence and two-year probation by a Calgary judge on Aug. 1, according to media reports. During probation he will have to receive counselling for anger management and psychological issues, and undergo cultural sensitivity training.

He was charged with three counts of uttering threats in November 2023, a City of Calgary news release says.

Police said they received complaints of multiple online threats made against two Jewish community organizations via social media.

Ghandour made the threats under an online alias, police said, and investigators were able to determine that he was the owner of the social media account.

He was arrested on Nov. 7. At the time, police acknowledged the incident may be in relation to the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on Oct. 7. They said that hate may have been a factor in the case.

“We understand that recent events that have taken place locally in relation to international conflicts have deeply affected Calgarians’ sense of safety across their city,” Insp. Keith Hurley of the Calgary Police Service said.

He also noted that any threats, online or in-person, could be investigated by Calgary police.

Increase in Anti-Semitic Incidents

Statistics Canada says anti-Semitic incidents increased 71 percent between 2022 and 2023. There were 900 Jewish-related crimes reported last year. It’s a number that has been increasing since 2020, when there were just 331 incidents reported, compared to 492 in 2021 and 527 in 2022.

The numbers mean Jews are the leading target of hate crimes in the country, according to StatCan data. It also noted that Muslim Canadians have seen a 94 percent increase in incidents at 211 reports.

Some of those attacks have been on Jewish schools and community centres.

Just days before the sentencing of Ghandour, police in Toronto said they were investigating a fire at a Jewish school, believed to have happened in the early hours of July 30. Police said they were also investigating a school bus fire in a Jewish neighbourhood in that city.

On May 25, shots were fired at a Jewish girls school in Toronto, prompting a police investigation.

A Jewish private high school in Toronto was evacuated following a bomb threat in November 2023. Police say a synagogue and daycare were also evacuated as a precaution.

Schools in Montreal have been hit with gunfire in similar anti-Semitic incidents, with some schools being targeted more than once.

Bullets were fired at the doors of the Yeshiva Gedola school and the nearby United Talmud Torahs of Montreal on Nov. 9 and Yeshiva Gedola was hit again on Nov. 12.

Jennifer Cowan contributed to this article.