Toronto police investigating 2 hate-motivated incidents involving mezuzahs

Toronto police says it is investigating two hate-motivatedincidents involving mezuzahs,asymbol of Jewish faith.

In a post to X, formerly known as Twitter, police saidsomeone reported a stolen mezuzaha piece of parchmentwith religious texts that is attached, in a case, to the doorpost of house.

In the other incident, police say "hateful remarks were made."

In an unrelated news conference on Wednesday,Toronto's police ChiefMyronDemkiwprovided updated numbers on antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crime calls dating back to Oct. 7,when Hamas militants launched an attack on Israel.

He said the most recent figures show"significant rises" compared to the same time frame in previous years.

There were 15 antisemitic incidents reported betweenOct. 7and Oct. 25. That's compared to seven in2022 and one in 2021, he said.

Meanwhile, there were five anti-Muslim hate incidents reported between Oct. 7 and Oct. 25. In 2022there were none, and one reported in 2021.

"Since these figures were tabulated, we have received more occurrences that are presently being investigated," said Demkiw.

There have been 237 hate crime incidents in Toronto as of last week,up from 192 the same time last year.

Hate crimes not always reported

Demkiw said a task force islooking at the issue across the city to "have the best possible investigative outcomes and the best possible opportunities to disrupt this hateful behaviour."

Additionally, he said he'll start to report hate crime statistics monthly to the Toronto Police Services Board "for the foreseeable future."

Toronto police have previously said hate crimes may beunderreportedfor several reasons, including fear and retaliation.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims has said its seen an "extreme spike in Islamophobic acts" across Canada over the past two weeks, marking an over 1,300 per cent increase in reports.

TheCentre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, an advocacy group forJewish federations across Canada, highlighted antisemitic graffiti recently seen across Toronto. In two cases, the graffitifeatured blood dripping from the Star of David dripping in red paint, with the words "Free Palestine" and "Soaked in Blood," they said.

The incidents come after Toronto police officers have steppedup patrols in several areas around the cityafter hearing concerns that the war between Israel and Hamas is causing fear in affected communities.