The front doors of a Vancouver synagogue were set on fire in an arson attack on Thursday evening, causing minor damage and no injuries, the Vancouver Police Department and Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver announced.
While the Federation initially said that an incendiary device had been thrown at the Schara Tzedeck synagogue entrance at around 9.30 p.m., the Jewish group and police updated that after an investigation had determined that a liquid accelerant was poured onto the doors and set alight. Congregants reportedly extinguished the flames before they could spread. The Police and Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services conducted a search and declared the site safe for use.Law enforcement is still investigating the incident as a possible hate crime and is asking for public aid. The police said that they had positioned additional officers throughout the city at synagogues, Jewish community centers, religious schools, and public schools.“We’re doing everything in our power to solve this crime, while providing reassurance, comfort, and safety to the community,” said constable Tania Visintin. “We will continue to have a higher police presence in strategic locations throughout the coming days, as this investigation unfolds.”
The Federation said that it was contacting and advising Jewish institutions to remain vigilant and follow security protocols.
“We extend our steadfast support to the families and staff of Congregation Schara Tzedeck,” Congregation Schara Tzedeck senior Rabbi Andrew Rosenblatt, congregation president Jonathon Leipsic, Federation Board Chair Lana Marks Pulve, Federation Chief Executive Office Ezra Shanken, and Federation Security Advisory Committee chair Jason Murray said in a joint statement. “Antisemitic rhetoric has reached a feverish pitch in our city and region recently, and it has always been our concern that the next step would be violence. This deliberate act of hate was an attempt to intimidate our Jewish community. But we refuse to be intimidated or to hide. Our community is resilient, and we are proud to be an important part of the multicultural fabric of our city, our province and our country.”Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim said in a Friday statement that the city would not accept acts of hatred and violence against any group.“To our Jewish community – we stand shoulder to shoulder with you,” said Sim. “Let there be no doubt: This was a hateful act of antisemitism. Together, we will rise above this act of hate and continue to work towards a city where everyone feels safe and respected.”The Rabbinical Association of Vancouver (RAV) welcomed the immediate response of Sim and the VPD [Vancouver Police Department] as “exemplary” decried the attack as not just one synagogue but the entire community.“The last seven months have been the most difficult time for the Jewish people since the Holocaust,” said RAV.“There has never been a more important time for us to remain strong and unified. The first chief Ashkenazi Chief Rabbi of Israel, Rav Kook, taught us that when one Jew is hurting, we are all hurting. That is true today for our community in Vancouver.”
'Past the need for words and condemnations'
B’nai Brith Canada British Columbia regional manager Aron Csaplaros said on social media that his organization was in touch with law enforcement and would work to ensure the perpetrator is brought to justice.“We are far, far past the need for words and condemnations,” Csaplaros said on X on Thursday night. “If our elected leaders do not immediately act, it is only a matter of time before people are injured, or worse.”Canadian special envoy for Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism Deborah Lyons said the attack on the synagogue, which included many Holocaust survivors, showed the need for recognition that “incendiary rhetoric leads to incendiary violence.”“Three Jewish institutions in three major cities this week have been attacked, and more over the months since Hamas’s horrific massacre on October 7,” said Lyons.The arson attack comes after a Montreal Jewish school, located in a synagogue, was hit by gunfire on Monday night, but did not result in casualties. Only two days prior, two men opened fire on a Jewish girls’ school in North York, a Toronto suburb, causing no injuries but leaving bullet holes in the building. In Montreal there have been three other incidents of shots fired at Jewish houses of worship since October 7.Toronto has seen repeated acts of vandalism and arson against its synagogues, with a vandal smashing the Kehillat Shaarei Torah synagogue’s windows for the second time in a month on May 17.The synagogue’s window had previously been smashed on April 19. Another Bayview Avenue area synagogue had signs set on fire on April 26 and April 28.