A prominent Ottawa rabbi is calling on hate crime victims to speak out after he himself was the recipient of a threatening anti-Jewish phone call late last week.
“The Jewish community has been the most targeted faith community in Canada for a very long time … and it’s skyrocketed since Oct. 7,” Rabbi Idan Scher said in a televised interview with CBC, referencing the date that Hamas first attacked Israel.
“I call on anybody that experiences this type of hate to make sure that they are filing [police] reports because you can’t imagine the impact you can have in helping to secure our community.”
The rabbi of Congregation Machzikei Hadas in Ottawa did just that after receiving a call from a man on Nov. 3 that left him shaken.
Mr. Scher listened to the man for approximately four minutes as he condemned the Jewish community for supporting Israel, calling them “Zionists,” which, he said, means they are “Nazis who need to be killed.” The rabbi said he stayed on the line to ensure he wouldn’t miss anything important to share with police.
Attempts to reach Mr. Scher by press time were unsuccessful.
The Ottawa Police Service Hate and Bias Crime Unit has charged a 29-year-old man “with various hate-motivated offences” in connection with the “threatening phone call.”
Although the police did not list the charges in its Nov. 6 press release, it said it would continue to “prosecute those who commit hate crimes to the full extent of the law.”
The man was scheduled to appear in court on the charges earlier this week.
The incident comes just days after Ottawa Police Chief Eric Stubbs condemned the rising number of hate crimes against the Jewish and Muslim communities in the city.
“Graffiti, vandalism, hate mail, threats and a potential threat to public safety (later deemed unfounded through investigation) have been reported to police,” he said in a Nov. 1 statement.
“Hate speech, symbols and other hate-motivated incidents are unacceptable. Those incidents can have a lasting impact not only on those who have been targeted, but throughout the neighbourhoods and communities where they occur.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has also spoken out against the rise in hate crimes not just in the nation’s capital, but across Canada.
He said the rise in hate crimes since the Israel–Hamas conflict began has left Canadians “scared in our own streets.” He spoke out against antisemitism and Islamophobia and called on Canadians to show more understanding for one another.
“This is a time where we need to regroup, to model hope, never mind leading on the world stage, here at home,” Mr. Trudeau said. “We need to model how we get through this. That’s the responsibility of every single Canadian.”
