Antisemitic hate crimes increased by more than 100 percent from 2022 to 2023, according to Toronto Police Services’ annual report, which it released July 31 along with updated numbers on hate crimes in the city at a police board meeting.

Chief of Police Myron Demkiw told the Toronto Police Services Board (TPSB) in his monthly update that the force has made 130 arrests and laid 314 charges related to hate crime occurrences since Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, leading to Israel’s military response in Gaza.

Antisemitism continues to be the single highest category of reported hate crimes in Toronto, accounting for more hate crimes than any other category, said Demkiw. TPS statistics show that has been the case for several months—and the past several years.

Among the 273 reported hate crimes so far in 2024, 45 percent were antisemitic, with the most common charges continuing to be mischief, assault and uttering threats, per previous updates. On June 24, the last update, TPS said there had been 221 hate crimes, 44.8 percent of which were antisemitic.

Hate crime occurrences are up 55 percent over the same period in 2023, Demkiw said.

“I want to reassure our communities again that the Toronto Police fully investigates every reported incident in an effort to hold those responsible accountable,” Demkiw told the board.

In the last three days, Toronto’s Jewish community has learned of multiple incidents at Jewish buildings involving fires, including one at Leo Baeck Jewish Day School on July 30. Signs outside Kehillat Shaarei Torah and Temple Sinai were set on fire on July 31.

“Investigations continue on reported occurrences and communities will continue to see our visible uniform presence,” said Demkiw.

Another incident on July 29 involved a school bus set ablaze at Bathurst St. and Wilson Ave. in a grocery store parking lot, which TPS is investigating as an arson and says it has no evidence to believe the incident was hate-motivated, noting the bus had been out of use for years. (A press release from Abraham Global Peace Initiative said the school bus belonged to the “Orthodox Bobov community.”)

Deputy Chief Robert Johnson, who delivered part of the monthly verbal update by TPS Command, acknowledged “community concerns” over “recent incidents of mischief at places of worship and Jewish schools.”

Johnson repeated the TPS’ message about its response to the fire one day earlier at Leo Baeck. TPS has said the fire “originated in an exterior storage shed, which was being used by an under-housed individual for shelter,” with the fire and heat causing damage to the shed and shattering a school window, Johnson said.

“The Hate Crime Unit has been consulted and there is no evidence at this time to suggest this incident was motivated by hate. This is an ongoing investigation, and we’ll update residents as soon as we can.”

New online portal makes hate crime stats public

The meeting included a presentation of TPS’ 2023 annual statistical report, including hate crimes. Johnson told the police board that a new statistical tool the service had previously announced was now making TPS hate crime data from 2018 to 2023 publicly available via a TPS website called the Public Safety Data Portal.

The data, showing verified hate crimes as determined by TPS’ Hate Crime Unit, was pulled from TPS’ annual hate crime statistical reports, and Johnson, introducing the TPS’ new Hate Crime Dashboard on its portal, said it was being made available “as a downloadable open dataset to ensure easy access and visibility.”

According to the dashboard, hate crimes against Jewish people were the single biggest category again in 2023. Antisemitic hate crimes rose from 66 in 2022 to 130 in 2023, increasing by 103.1 percent, according to TPS numbers. Along with “Jewish,” TPS bias categories appear to include Arab, Israeli, Palestinian, Muslim, and Black Jewish, among others.

The TPS statistical report shows the city’s total hate crimes steadily increased from 136 in 2019 to 368 in 2023. In 2023, hate crimes were up by 48.4 percent from 2022, when there were 248 hate crimes reported.

A video tutorial has been created by [TPS] to educate users on how to use the Hate Crime Dashboard and identify trends.

“We are promoting transparency in hate crime data and trends, to ensure we work collaboratively and promote honest conversations about what strategies are needed to keep our communities safe,” Johnson went on, explaining that before the dashboard launched, TPS engaged in “various Community Consultative Committees representing diverse groups across the city to get their feedback and to ensure the data being provided is what communities are seeking.”

The bigger picture

Johnson addressed the larger effects for communities impacted by hate crimes and incidents.

“Hate crimes have an impact that is much larger than the singular offence,” said Johnson. “Whether it be graffiti, harassment or an assault, their impact affects the individual, their family, friends and their community as a whole.”

Johnson noted the ongoing challenge of under-reporting of hate crimes and mentioned TPS’ hate crime video series and a hate crime awareness campaign led jointly with Crime Stoppers, in addition to the web form for reporting hate-motivated graffiti that TPS launched in November, 2023, following the Oct. 7 attacks, when the service also added officers to the specialized hate-crimes unit following a growing number of reported incidents.

(Seven instances of antisemitic graffiti on visibly Jewish buildings were also reported in Thornhill, north of Toronto, on July 29, with York Regional Police releasing images of a person wearing a ghost mask spray-painting “Free Palestine” in red on Jewish buildings and signs. YRP’s Hate Crime Unit is investigating.)

TPS has attended 1,556 suspected hate crime calls for service—averaging 156 calls a month—since Oct. 7, 2023.  (In the TPS update June 24, calls for service had averaged 159 per month for suspected or confirmed hate crime occurrences.) TPS attended 171 hate crime calls in June; however, that was followed by a decrease to 113 calls as of July 27, according to Demkiw in his portion of the monthly update.

“While this decrease is welcome, I do want to acknowledge that just this past week we have been reminded about the terrible impact these occurrences can have on our communities.”

Demkiw also announced new efforts to increase visibility for TPS officers and vehicles in communities, with “Guardian Angel” lights on officers’ uniforms, and red and blue “static” car roof lights on marked police vehicles to augment police visibility.

Launching Aug. 1, Project Magnify, the three-month pilot TPS is operating in 14, 31 and 43 Divisions in tandem with its Public Safety Response Team, is “all about increasing our visibility and amplifying our presence” to deter criminal activity, Demkiw said.

The project aims to ensure that “communities can fully enjoy their surroundings and public spaces without fear of harm or other criminal activity,” said Demkiw. “It will also create more opportunities for community members to liaise with Toronto Police officers, strengthening relationships and trust.”

The project came after a series of town halls in late 2023 in which “the community made it clear they want to see police in their neighbourhoods, especially those most affected by gun violence,” Demkiw said.

“Members operating police vehicles that are a part of this pilot will utilize the light bar when they are out in the community, responding to non-emergency calls or during major events or areas of the city with large crowds,” TPS said in a news release about Project Magnify.

“The lights will also contribute to officer safety, making them more visible to motorists, pedestrians and other officers, or while in foot pursuits as they respond to dynamic situations.”

But whether it’s responding to graffiti, an assault, shots fired at a school, a foiled terror plot, or uttering threats, TPS being present in the community is critical to tackling the rise in hate crimes, Noah Shack, vice president for combatting antisemitism at the UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, told The CJN in a phone interview.

Shack pointed to the increases year over year in antisemitic hate crimes, with a “significant spike materializing after Oct. 7.”

“It’s good we’ve seen police making arrests and identifying suspects… but the rate at which we’ve been experiencing hate means we need immediate, strong and sustained deployment of police in our Jewish community” to ensure safety, said Shack.

“We need to continue to ensure police have the information, resources and mandate to keep our community safe.”

Shack pointed to TPS initiatives like the new dashboard and their online form for reporting hateful graffiti as some of the positive moves TPS has made in addressing rising hate crimes.

“Anything that makes it easier for people to report hate crime is a good thing,” he said.

UJA Federation of Greater Toronto echoed the call for police resources in an email July 31 from chair Jeff Rosenthal and CEO Adam Minsky following the fires set on the properties of two synagogues overnight.

“Law enforcement resources in Greater Toronto are immensely stretched in ordinary times, let alone in an environment of growing hate and extremism,” the letter read in part.

“We need our provincial and municipal leaders to step up and give police the resources they need to tackle this threat. This is why we are urging Premier [Doug] Ford, Mayor [Olivia] Chow, and [Vaughan Mayor Stephen Del Duca] to increase funds for local law enforcement to combat antisemitism.”