Friends of SimonWiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies condemns yet another incident oftargeted hatred of Jews – this time, in Burlington, Ontario

December 12, 2016 -Toronto:  Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for HolocaustStudies (FSWC) condemns the most recent incident of targeted hatred of theJewish people – this time with the discovery of swastikas and a scrawled (andincorrectly spelled) ‘Aushwitz’  at aplayground and on school buses in Burlington, Ontario this past weekend.

“While I am pleased to learn the graffiti has been removed,and that there is a police investigation into this incident, I believe it istime for police forces and governments to take a more proactive approach indealing with the surge in antisemitic hate crimes in communities acrossCanada,” said FSWC President and CEO Avi Benlolo.

“In 2014the Canadian Jewish community was the target of almost half of all religiouslymotivated hate crimes across the country. That the country’s tiny Jewish minority remains the chief targetof all faith-based hate crimes is a devastating and unacceptable reality which should have alarm bells ringing in the corridors of Toronto’s lawenforcement, educational and political offices. To disrupt this patternof hate, civic leaders in all walks of life need to put a much greater effortinto ensuring the safety and security of the city’s Jewish minority, and tospeak clearly and forcefully against a growing tide of hate generally, and antisemitismspecifically, through the enforcement of current legislation and, if necessary,the creation of new laws to prevent this growing epidemic,” he added.

ForMore Information Contact
StaceyL. StarkmanDirector of Communications & External Relations
416.864.9735 x 32 / sstarkman@fswc.ca
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Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) is a leadingCanadian non-profit human rights foundation directly representing over30,000 members. FSWC is committed to countering racism and antisemitism and topromoting the principles of tolerance, social justice and Canadiandemocratic values through advocacy and educational programs includingworkshops, Freedom Day, the Spirit of Hope Benefit, Tools for Tolerance and thewidely acclaimed new Tour for Humanity. FSWC is affiliated with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, aninternational Jewish human rights organization headquartered in LosAngeles, which has won two Academy Awards, has built two Museumsof Tolerance (with a third being built in Jerusalem) and is an NGO at theUnited Nations, UNESCO, OAS, OSCE, the Council of Europe and the LatinAmerican Parliament. Visit us at www.fswc.ca

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