Winnipeg’s Jewish community is grateful for the actions of local police and the RCMP for filing terrorism-related charges against a man for defacing fences and walls in the city with antisemitic graffiti last year.
“What happened was really disturbing,” said Jeff Lieberman, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg. “The police did really good work in finding and charging this person.”
Nevin Thunder Young, 19, was arrested Jan. 12 and charged with 26 counts of mischief by Winnipeg police for spray painting about 100 antisemitic graffiti symbols or messages—including a swastika on a synagogue wall—between September and December of last year.
Among the messages were the letters M.K.Y., which stands for Maniac Murder Cult or Маньяки: культ убийства in Russian.
A violent transnational neo-Nazi organization, M.K.Y. encourages its members to commit murder, bombings, and acts of terrorism.
I condemn this blatant act of antisemitism. There is no place for such hatred in Winnipeg. If anyone has information on this incident please contact the Winnipeg Police Service. https://t.co/iACqGlc9DR
— Mayor Scott Gillingham (@ScottGillingham) January 3, 2025
At first, Winnipeg police felt only mischief charges were appropriate. But after referring the case to the RCMP, on March 17 Young was also charged with facilitating terrorist activity, participation in activity of a terrorist group and commission of an offence for a terrorist group.
Young is in custody at the Winnipeg Remand Centre.
At first, said Lieberman, members of the Jewish community assumed the graffiti was the work of a “lone wolf.” People in the community were shocked and surprised when he was charged this week with more serious crimes involving a terror-related network of some kind.
At press time, Lieberman didn’t know any more about that involvement; nothing more has been released by the RCMP.
For Lieberman, the additional charges send a message “that antisemitism won’t be tolerated in Manitoba, that the police take it seriously,” he said.
He is grateful that, so far, antisemitism in Winnipeg has been limited.
“Antisemitism is rising everywhere after Oct. 7, but we haven’t seen the kind of violence that has happened in other cities like Toronto and Montreal,” he said, adding he doesn’t have a tally of antisemitic incidents in Winnipeg. “It’s mostly just graffiti, but even that is difficult to experience.”
Local police have done a good job of following up on any antisemitic incidents, he said, also helping to keep things calm at pro-Palestinian rallies and protests.
“Those rallies have mostly been peaceful,” he said, although some have featured antisemitic images and comments. “But it hasn’t led to any violence.”
Even so, local Jews are anxious and cautious about displaying their faith. “We still feel insecure. There’s still lots of fear,” Lieberman said.
For Gustavo Zentner, vice president of CIJA for Manitoba and Saskatchewan, the charges serve as a “wake-up call” about the involvement of terror-related organizations in hate against Jews in Canada.
“We’ve seen too many cases in recent months where individuals commit hate-fuelled acts, and are later found to have connections with international terrorist groups who have begun radicalizing, mobilizing, and recruiting locally,” he said in a statement. “If we don’t act now, we risk allowing this threat to grow.”
"Keeping our community safe is the job of civic society and is not exclusive to the Jewish community."
— CIJA (@CIJAinfo) January 3, 2025
CIJA VP @GZinterpoc calls on government and law enforcement in Manitoba to denounce the antisemitic graffiti found today at a Winnipeg community centre, and to take a strong… pic.twitter.com/qWTBq3Sqls
For Zentner, charges like those laid by the RCMP send a “clear message that hate will not be tolerated.”
The RCMP’s national security program works with local police forces to protect “against the greatest domestic and international criminal threats,” according to the RCMP website.
When hate appears, we have two choices: look away or take action. In Winnipeg, Canada, Avrom Charach is proving that silence is not an option. He’s personally erased over 100 acts of antisemitic vandalism. This mensch should inspire us all. https://t.co/StqFYm2tbx
— ADL (@ADL) February 3, 2025
