Signs on the properties of two Toronto synagogues were lit on fire early on the morning of July 31, the latest in a string of fires at Jewish institutions this week. At Kehillat Shaarei Torah, an Orthodox congregation, three signs for the UJA and JNF were set ablaze, as well as one sign for the UJA at Temple Sinai Congregation, which is Reform.

Kehillat Shaarei Torah, which is on Bayview Avenue just south of Highway 401, captured security camera footage of the incident. A motorcyclist wearing a light-coloured helmet first stopped by the signs at 2:19 a.m., then returned at 2:32 a.m., lit them on fire, and departed. The sign at Temple Sinai was lit on fire at 3:30 a.m., according to a release from Toronto Police Services.

The police believe the same person is responsible for both incidents, and they are being treated as a single investigation into a hate-motivated offence. Residents in both areas can expect to see increased police presence.

For Kehillat Shaarei Torah, this is at least the fourth time the synagogue has been targeted by vandalism in the past four months. On April 19, five windows were smashed. On May 17, doors and windows were smashed. And on June 30, two projectiles were thrown through their windows. (A dead raccoon was also left in their parking lot on April 22, although police are not certain whether to treat that incident as hate-motivated.)

Within minutes of the fires being set at around 2:30 a.m., a motorist driving past the synagogue saw the signs on fire and called 911.

Michael Gilmore, executive director of Kehillat Shaarei Torah, had a hunch that the vandal might strike his synagogue again last night. He believed he had noticed a pattern in the prior attacks, and the most recent one only lends more evidence to his theory.

“I had noticed… that any time Israel defends itself or hits a target, that our synagogue had been attacked. That happened back in May and June, there were some things happening in Israel,” he said. 

“So I set an alarm for around 2:30 in the morning, and I woke up, and I checked the cameras, and because… it wasn’t the actual building that was on fire, it was just the signs, no alarms went off. But I checked the cameras remotely, and I was able to see that our building was surrounded by fire trucks. That’s when I realized that, okay, something did happen, and my instincts were unfortunately right, and I came down right away.”

Gilmore was on high alert last night because of two strikes carried out against high-ranking officers in Hezbollah and Hamas. The first, an airstrike on Beirut, killed four and injured at least 74 others. One of the dead was Fuad Shukr, a senior military commander in Hezbollah who is believed to have ordered the recent strike on the Golan Heights that killed 12 children and teenagers on a soccer field.

The second was the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran. As of publication, Israel has not claimed responsibility for this attack, although is widely believed to be responsible for it.

Gilmore said the police have been responsive to all of the incidents so far. They have also assured him that the synagogue is being closely monitored and that everything possible is being done to ensure its protection. While Gilmore understands the response teams are doing the most they can and appreciates the work they have been doing, he and his congregation would like to see more effort being put into prevention—especially from those with more authority.

“Our community members are very understanding. I think the major frustration that most of us have is not necessarily what the police are or are not doing… It’s just everything takes so long to get done. The way the system is set up, is not set up for us to succeed. I think that’s where most frustration comes from. It’s not from the people doing the work. It’s from the system that we just feel has been failing us for years and now it’s finally catching up.

“It’s the feeling that antisemitism has just been allowed to fester. That it hasn’t been taken seriously. Maybe it isn’t still taken seriously. I know a lot of people I talk to, not necessarily in my community, but people across the GTA, the question is, ‘Is someone going to have to be killed just to be taken seriously?’ We don’t feel like enough people, like, for example, the mayor, other people in power, even [Premier Doug] Ford, no one’s speaking up enough about how it’s impacting our community.

“We just don’t feel like we’re given the proper treatment and the proper prevention that happens. Again, just like preventative medicine. We’re not getting enough preventative medicine and the rot has set in and the system is not set up to deal with it properly.”

The president of Temple Sinai, Brian Costin, emailed a statement on behalf of the synagogue, which is on Wilson Avenue between Bathurst Street and Avenue Road.

“Overnight, one of the UJA signs in front of our building was set on fire. We are relieved to report that the only damage was to the sign itself, and thankfully, no one was injured,” he wrote. 

“Temple Sinai is not just a building—it is our families and individuals who make our congregation a spiritual home. While we are dismayed by this act of vandalism, we are grateful that nobody was hurt or any further damage was done.”

Although Gilmore says his congregation is feeling the “fatigue” of four vandalism incidents in four months, the members haven’t let it dampen their morale. Instead, they are rallying in support of the shul and of each other.

“The positive feelings [are] overwhelming, and it has been since the first vandalism, since Oct. 7. We’ve really stuck together. It’s really remarkable to see how Jewish people stick together and how we pull together, and even seeing… allies that come together and support us as well,” he said. 

“It’s heartwarming and so it’s the juxtaposition of something negative happening, hatred happening, and then being met with so much love and caring.”

On Wednesday, UJA sent out an email update on security developments that mentioned the fires being set at the two synagogues. It also included information on two other incidents.

An arrest was made by the RCMP in York Region of a father and son who were charged with terrorism offences. They were affiliated with the Islamic State (ISIS) and had purchased a machete and axe with the intent to undertake a serious and violent attack in Greater Toronto.

In another incident, antisemitic graffiti was sprayed across multiple sites in Thornhill.

The update also mentioned the need for heightened security concerns following the killing of Haniyeh.

Noah Shack, UJA’s vice president of countering antisemitism and hate, says more needs to be done to combat the trend of antisemitic incidents. He mentioned an initiative by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) to pass legislation that would make glorification of terrorism a criminal offence.

The UJA security update also asked people to email Canada’s minister of public safety, Dominic LeBlanc, he pointed out.

“We have seen hate continue to grow targeting our community. We’ve seen hateful words turn into hateful actions. Those actions have been increasing,” he said.

“Keeping the community safe is only one part of it. We have seen over nine months the glorification of terrorism targeting Israelis and Jews, and this contributes to a culture of hate here in the city and in Canada.

“This is an alarming time, a deeply concerning time, not just for the Jewish community but for all Canadians. Seeing these kinds of actions is deeply concerning. We need to ensure police have the resources to be deployed in our neighbourhoods and keep us safe, to intervene and disrupt these types of terrorism offences… and to have the legal tools to prevent the growth of this ethos that’s so dangerous for so many.”