TORONTO (June 30, 2017) - Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC) received an anonymous tip with photographs of hate graffiti at Woodbridge College in Vaughan, Ontario. The incident was discovered in the early hours of June 29th. The York Region Police Hate Crime Investigative Team is currently investigating.

In the pictures sent to FSWC, at least three Swastikas were drawn on school buildings, with one adjacent to a phallic symbol and another drawn as part of a massive Nazi flag. In one picture, a plane crashes into the Twin Towers with the words, "Jews did 911" scrawled above. The incident was sent anonymously to FSWC to expose antisemitism and have it publicly discussed.

‍"Hate crime and hate speech has a compounding effect on communities," said Avi Benlolo, President and CEO of FSWC. "Over the course of the last couple of years, we have seen an increasing tide in antisemitism emanating from pamphlets and newspapers; rallies like Al Quds Day and propaganda on university campuses - which has politicized antisemitism." FSWC continues to call on the Attorney General and authorities to take action to prevent the rising tide of antisemitism.

‍FSWC has discussed the incident with York Region Police and has contacted the school principal. In these circumstances, FSWC typically offers its counter-hate education program through the Tour for Humanity and tolerance training workshops. The organization also provides the school with resource materials such as books and films and invites educators to view Holocaust testimony on www.neverforgetme.ca - an FSWC educational website. To learn more about antisemitism in Canada, please visit our website and click the "antisemitism" tab.

For continuous updates, please visit our website at www.fswc.ca.

To arrange an interview with Avi Benlolo, please contact:

Atara Cadesky 
Communications Associate 
416.864.9735 x 30 
acadesky@fswc.ca

Avital Borisovsky 
Communications Associate   
416.864.9735 x 29 
aborisovsky@fswc.ca