Shaarey Zedek, the largest synagogue in the Canadian city of Winnipeg, was targeted in a suspected antisemitic attack on Friday, reported the Canadian Jewish News.
Early that morning, according to the report, the synagogue’s front doors were defaced with swastikas and hate-filled graffiti in bright red spray paint.
The police’s hate crime unit has launched an investigation into the incident, but a new development on Sunday required additional police attention. At approximately 10:00 a.m., six police cars arrived at the Wellington Crescent synagogue following a suspicious discovery caught on the synagogue’s security cameras.
Rabbi Carnie Rose, the synagogue's senior rabbi, confirmed that the premises were evacuated while the police examined the video footage from Friday morning. According to the rabbi, the cameras had captured the suspect spraying the building, followed by a troubling moment when the individual tossed a package off the nearby Maryland Bridge.
“The camera caught him throwing a package off the bridge," Rabbi Rose recounted. While the investigation concluded with the discovery of an unthreatening item - a box with an empty bottle inside - the police treated the situation with due caution, including the mobilization of a bomb squad.
Sunday’s police deployment follows Friday’s act of vandalism at Shaarey Zedek, when swastikas and hate messages were scrawled on the synagogue's front doors. The suspect, captured on security cameras, was seen wearing a ball cap and a coat but not a mask.
Commenting on the vandalism, the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg said in a statement, “We are shocked and saddened to share that early Friday morning, Congregation Shaarey Zedek was targeted by an act of antisemitic vandalism."
“The incident is under active investigation by Winnipeg Police, and we are assisting wherever possible. Our Director of Community Security has been actively involved since Friday morning and is working closely with synagogue leadership and police as part of the response," the Jewish Federation added.
“We are hopeful that once the police investigation concludes, the person responsible will be identified and held accountable for this hateful act. This was an act of pure antisemitism, intended to intimidate. It did not succeed. Yesterday, members of our community came together at Shabbat services, showing that hate cannot shake our unity or our resolve."
“Security will continue to be present during services and events, and community members attending services are encouraged to report anything unusual to on-site security or synagogue staff. As the investigation continues, there may be an intermittent police presence on site," said the Jewish Federation.
It noted that the vandalism followed similar patterns in Montreal and Toronto “and are part of a broader rise in antisemitic acts affecting our community. Governments and other authorities must take decisive action to hold perpetrators accountable and address sources of hatred. At the same time, political, business, faith, community leaders, and all Canadians who believe in our shared values, have a responsibility to speak out clearly against antisemitism and all forms of hate."
Last year, a 19-year-old Winnipeg resident was charged with terrorism-related charges after being arrested for spray-painting antisemitic graffiti across the city.
The suspect was taken into custody by the RCMP in March of 2025, after Winnipeg police received multiple reports of antisemitic vandalism in the Charleswood area between September 28 and December 31 of 2024.
In July of 2022, 70 headstones were toppled in the Shaarey Zedek cemetery in Winnipeg. At the time, officials did not describe the vandalism as antisemitism, calling it a “desecration".