TORONTO MAYOR: NO PLACE FOR ANTI-SEMITISM IN THIS CITY:
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Toronto Mayor John Tory and leaders in the city’s Jewish community on Wed. 22 Jan. 2017 condemned the recent discovery of anti-Semitic notes inside a condo building in the city’s Willowdale neighborhood. Post-it notes bearing a Swastika and reading "No Jews” were found on the front doors of several Jewish residences in the building, while a number of residents also reported the theft of a mezuzah from their front doors. "We are here today to say that there is no place for these acts of hatred, for these acts of discrimination and for these acts of anti-Semitism,” Tory told reporters. "This is inconsistent with who we are and the story of Toronto that has made us one of the most admired cities in the world.” Several representatives from the Jewish community also attended the news conference to express their dismay with the incident.
One of them, Rabbi Moshe Steiner, said he went to the Willowdale condo building after learning its residents had been targeted and was alarmed to hear from some of the victims who wanted to "lay low” and not immediately replace their stolen or vandalized mezuzahs. He said he was relieved to hear those same residents then change their tones after discussion. "The answer is absolutely not to say, ‘Let’s recede into the shadows,’” he said. "We dare not be marginalized. Whoever did this is trying to intimidate us trying to force us to cower into the shadows. We cannot do that.” Police are investigating the hate crime, but no suspects have been arrested. (Arutz-7) Pray that Toronto Jews terrorized by this incident will be comforted and kept from further fear.