Canadian police arrest suspect who spat at, harassed Jews

The suspect was charged with two counts of assault and one count of breach of probation. 

 PROTESTERS WAVE Palestinian flags outside the US Consulate in Toronto last month. Among the protesters are the anti-Israel Jewish sect Neturei Karta.  (photo credit: Kyaw Soe Oo/Reuters)
PROTESTERS WAVE Palestinian flags outside the US Consulate in Toronto last month. Among the protesters are the anti-Israel Jewish sect Neturei Karta.
(photo credit: Kyaw Soe Oo/Reuters)

Police in Canada arrested a suspect earlier this month for potential involvement in an antisemitic incident that afternoon in the greater Toronto area, the York Regional Police stated on Tuesday. 

At about 1:45 p.m. that day, according to City News Toronto, a man— suspected to be Kenneth Jeewan Gobin, 34— got into an argument with four Jewish adults walking home from synagogue, after which he made antisemitic comments and spat at the group before riding away on his bike. 

The victims reportedly told the police they felt intimated by the suspect as he approached them on his bike. 

Gobin was charged with two counts of assault and one count of breach of probation.

 People carry a Palestinian flag during a rally in front of City Hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada October 9, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/Kyaw Soe Oo)
People carry a Palestinian flag during a rally in front of City Hall in Toronto, Ontario, Canada October 9, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/Kyaw Soe Oo)
 

Incident comes amid rise in antisemitic incidents globally

“York Regional Police takes these matters seriously and is reminding the community we will not tolerate any form of hate crime or the threat of violence against anyone,” the police said in a statement. “All reports of hate crime or hate/bias incidents will be investigated thoroughly.”

Antisemitic hate crimes have surged around the world since Hamas’s October 7 massacre and the outbreak of war in Gaza. In November, it was reported that hate crimes in Toronto tripled relative to the previous year.