Toronto (November 27, 2017) – Friends of SimonWiesenthal Center (FSWC) is deeply disappointed to learn of the defacement of awell-known Victoria business with offensive symbols.  

Yesterday afternoon,swastika and KGB symbols, written with permanent markers, were found onwindows, doors and the back wall of the building as it opened forbusiness. Staff were shocked to find the disturbing graffiti and moved quickly to remove it as best they could.

“It is disappointing to see that a business led bytwo owners that have made major contributions to local charities would betargeted with these offensive symbols of hate and oppression,” said FSWC President and CEO AviBenlolo. “While the graffiti can be wiped off, it is the hatred and intolerancebehind them that must be countered by the whole community.”

FSWC encourages anyone with information to call the Victoria Police Department at 250-995-7654.

Three weeks earlier posters promoting whitesupremacist websites with antisemitic references were found on University ofVictoria bulletin boards.

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Media Contact: 

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

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Follow us on Twitter at @CanadianFSWC for latest news and organization updates.

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Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies (FSWC) is a top Jewish human rights foundation in Canada's organized Jewish community. It directly impacts over 100,000 people each year and 500,000+ peripherally. FSWC is committed to countering racism and antisemitism and to promoting the principles of tolerance, social justice and Canadian democratic values through advocacy and educational programs including workshops, Freedom Day, Spirit of Hope Benefit, Tools for Tolerance and the widely acclaimed Tour for Humanity. FSWC is affiliated with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, an international Jewish human rights organization headquartered in Los Angeles which has won two Academy Awards, has built two Museums of Tolerance (with a third being built in Jerusalem) and is an NGO at the United Nations, UNESCO, OAS, OSCE, the Council of Europe and the Latin American Parliament. Visit us at www.fswc.ca. 

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