Anti-Jewish vandalism.

Toronto--A rash of destructive anti-Jewish incidents made the news in the Greater Toronto Area in mid-March 2004. In the Vaughan area just north of Toronto, where there is a large Jewish community, a dozen residents found their doors defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti. Also a Jewish cemetery was vandalized.

Since then, similar symbols have been found on the doors of two schools, and a Vaughan synagogue was pelted with eggs. One Jewish family received offensive phone calls, resulting in the arrest of two young boys. Significantly, the incident occurred during the schools' March break, March 15-20, following assiduous media coverage of previous incidents. On March 30, two 15-year-old boys and an 18-year-old were apprehended.

Local authorities have rallied around the Jewish community with condemnation of the attacks, a well-attended rally, and promises of increased police presence. Messages of sympathy and solidarity also came from leaders of the area's other faith communities including the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada, the Islamic Council of Imams (Muslim), and the Canadian Council of Christians and Jews (for text: [e-mail]).

Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic, in a letter to "his Jewish brothers and sisters," addressed to the chairman of the Toronto Board of Rabbis, quoted Pope John Paul that "the Church utterly condemns anti-Semitism and every form of racism as being altogether opposed to the principles of Christianity." (Toronto Star, Mar 4, 2004)

On Tuesday, March 23, Bernie Farber, a B'nai Brith spokesman, decried the fact that the Jewish community had to pay the costs of hiring extra police guards for their places of worship and called for financial funding from the province for this purpose. He was given a sympathetic reception by the radio hosts who were interviewing him (CFRB 10.10 AM).

Meanwhile, there were vacuous attempts by other media outlets, such as the CBC, and Jewish spokesmen Frank Diamond and Prof. Weinrib to connect these destructive episodes to the fact that The Passion of the Christ was then showing in local cinemas. There was no mention of the hammering of Palestinians in a constant tit-for-tat cycle of revenge in the Arab/Israeli conflict reported daily on television.