B’nai Brith Canada on Wednesday condemned an incident in which several massive swastikas were carved into the snow-covered ice at a community skating rink on the Island of Montreal.
On Tuesday evening, a member of the Jewish community visited the outdoor skating rink at Danyluk Park in the Town of Mount Royal, an on-island suburb of Montreal. Video reviewed by B’nai Brith shows at least four large swastikas on the surface of the rink.
B'nai Brith reported the incident to the hate crimes unit of the Montreal police force (SPVM) and also notified Peter Malouf, Mayor of Town of Mount Royal. Mayor Malouf reacted immediately by launching an investigation. The perpetrators remain unidentified at this time.
“It is alarming to see the skating rink, such a basic symbol of Canadian identity and winter fun which attracts children and families, being defiled by symbols of hatred,” said Michael Mostyn, Chief Executive Officer of B’nai Brith Canada. “This repulsive act of antisemitism should be condemned by all, and we hope that the perpetrators are identified and held to account.”
The incident is the latest in a series of antisemitic incidents in Canada.
In late March, Statistics Canada released its annual survey of police-reported hate crimes which found that Jews have remained by far the most targeted religious group for hate crimes in Canada.
The Statistics Canada report found that there were 1,946 police-reported hate crimes in Canada in 2019, up 7 percent from a year earlier.
In April, B’nai Brith Canada released its Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents, which found that anti-Semitic incidents in Canada have increased 18 percent since 2019.
The study affirms that Canadian Jews remain the most targeted religious group in the country.
In August, the election campaign signs of two Jewish Canadian politicians in Montreal were defaced with swastikas.