A Toronto Jewish man says he’s slowly recovering but is still in shock following a violent antisemitic assault on July 28.
On the other hand, Sam Brody says he’s happy to tell his story as a proud Orthodox Jew, but as one who, for now, has altered his appearance and behaviour to keep himself safe.
Brody, 29, was wearing a light-blue kippah while walking his dog as usual on that Wednesday morning in the midtown Yonge-Eglinton neighborhood where he lives, when he saw a large man approach. Brody said the man was about six feet tall, and roughly 200 pounds—“a big solid guy.”
In a CJN interview on July 30, Brody said that as he passed, the man bodychecked him into a wooden fence, knocking Brody to the ground. Brody said the attacker yelled, “F— you, you Jew! You will never take Israel. Free Palestine!”
Brody said he stayed crouched on the ground because he didn’t know whether the man had a weapon. He was concerned about being kicked.
Brody said the man, who was wearing “a decent-sized cross,” jogged off. Brody then ran around a corner. His dog was unhurt.
“I took it really slow going home. I didn’t want to run into him around the other side of the block,” he said. He then called police.
“It was so out of the blue.”
Brody said he’s still “in shock” and is nursing a sore shoulder.
“Physically, I’m doing okay but mentally, it’s been a struggle. The idea of having to look over my shoulder now when I go out of my house is not a good thing or fun for anyone.”
- Hear Sam Brody describe why he decided to go public with his story: The CJN Daily podcast
Following the incident, Brody, the manager of Magen Meats factory made a video describing the attack and posted it to Facebook.
“I felt it was important to get my story across,” he said.
The video garnered wide attention in Jewish social media circles. Brody said he’s received positive reaction from all over Canada, the United States, Israel, England and India.
“The support from the community has been fantastic,” he said. “Nobody has come out and said anything negative. It’s beautiful to see how our community comes together and people from different walks of life who also reached out to me.”
He said Jewish Family & Child Service has offered its services.
A self-described introvert whose social anxiety has now worsened, Brody said, “this is all very new to me and kind of freaky and scary.”
But being a representative of this sort, “it’s an honour… I didn’t intend to be this person or to be making this statement, but I’m happy to be the one to go out and do it.”
As a kippah-wearing Jew, Brody said he’s been subjected to verbal hate some 20 times in his life. As a student at Eitz Chaim school, he recalled, he and his classmates would have their kippot stolen and their tztizit cut or tied to a seat when riding public buses.
Brody said he also used to work a retail job at the Toronto Eaton Centre, where customers would remark “I didn’t know Jews work retail. I thought it was below you guys.”
“This was something I grew up with,” Brody said. “I’ve dealt with it a lot.”
But this was the first time he was physically assaulted.
“It’s so scary and shocking. It shakes your idea of what it means to live in this city. You hear it happening to other people but when it happens to you, it really does change your perspective.”
He said he missed a few days of work after the attack and he’s been unable to do his second job, selling life insurance.
The job involves “dealing with people one on one and talking about their emotional stuff. I haven’t been able to do that. It’s just too hard at the moment. I’m not in the right mental head space for it.”
To make matters more dramatic, Brody was fitted with a heart pacemaker eight weeks ago. He’s concerned about the level of stress he’s experiencing.
The attack has altered his behaviour, at least in the short term. He said he and his wife had wanted to go to the Toronto Blue Jays home opener but charged their minds.
“I just don’t feel safe going into a large group. I don’t know who is going to do something to me or say something to me. I’m much more cautious leaving my house.”
He also now wears his Magen David under his shirt and has taken to wearing a baseball cap in place of a kippah. It’s not something he wants to do.
“I’m a very proud Jew,” he said. “I’m not going to be any less Jewish but it does make me think a lot more about my own security and moving about.”
He said he “constantly” thinks about the attack.
The incident has also left him thinking about the big picture.
“We shouldn’t have to live like this,” he said. “We live in a great country and great city. We have many great people here from all walks of life and unfortunately a few bad apples ruin it for everyone else. It seems like these bad apples are becoming common or more vocal.”
He called this “a very scary time,” and said he knows a lot of people who are telling their children not to wear kippot or Jewish camp shirts on a bus.
“We’re telling our children not to dress Jewish. It’s crazy. When was the last time it was like this? Seventy, 80 years ago. There’s always been bad antisemitism but I don’t think it’s ever been this bad, with violent antisemitic acts.”
As for his going public, “if we’re not telling our story, nobody’s there to listen. It’s our responsibility for us to go out and tell our story.”
Brody said he’d like to get back to normal even though it’s “a scary time to be a Jew.”
B’nai Brith Canada called the attack “a brazen assault” that comes “amid an unprecedented surge of physical attacks on Canadian Jews.”
Brody said he’d like see a hate crime charge brought against his attacker. “It’s not enough to slap a wrist.”
Police have told media that the investigation is “active and ongoing.”
