A Jewish real estate agent in Toronto says he was the victim of a violent antisemitic attack while on his way to meet a client at a local commercial center.
Joseph Bitton recounted the incident in a Facebook post, alleging that a man who identified himself as a Shiite Houthi Muslim from Yemen threatened to kill him because he is Jewish and because of his views on Israel.
According to Bitton, the suspect accused Israel of killing babies and committing genocide against Palestinians before launching the attack. He said the assailant threw a parking ticket dispenser, bricks, stones, and metal bars at him before striking him with a thick wooden branch.
Bitton said he escaped with scratches and minor physical injuries but described the psychological impact as far more severe.
"This is not the Canada where I grew up and lived for the past 64 years," he wrote.
Bitton said he called Toronto Police, who responded to the scene, arrested the suspect, and opened an investigation. According to Bitton, authorities are treating the case as a suspected hate crime.
The alleged assault comes amid a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents across Canada since the October 7th massacre. Jewish communities have faced shootings, Molotov cocktail attacks, arson targeting synagogues and schools, and several foiled terror plots involving explosives, firearms, axes, and knives, raising growing concerns over the security of Jewish institutions nationwide.