After two Edmonton synagogues recently received hateful notes during Hanukkah this holiday season, Alberta Premier Rachel Notley condemned the “cowardly acts of hate in the strongest possible terms.”
“Anti-Semitism has no place in Alberta or Canada,” Notley said in a statement issued on Tuesday afternoon. “As Jewish families gather to share in the love and hope of Hanukkah, they deserve to do so in peace and security.
“I understand the police are investigating and our government will assist in any way possible.”
The president of the Temple Beth Ora Synagogue in Westmount posted a statement on the synagogue’s website recently in response to the person(s) who left a “hate-filled” poster for the building.
“We do not fear you, we will not allow your darkness to overcome our light,” J. Spencer Brawner wrote. “This is the meaning of our Hanukkah celebration, that we not only bring light forth to expose darkness, but we continue to do it day after day.
“Actions like these motivate us to continue to stand up and call out the hatred, intolerance, and injustice in our midst.”
Brawner said his synagogue stands with the Muslim community, the LGBTQ community and the First Nations community, all of of whom is says are targets of hate speech, violence or are pushed to the margins of society.
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“When one of us is targeted and attacked, we are all targets,” Brawner said. “However, we stand united and strong and our spirits will not be broken. We have and will continue to be a fixture in the fabric of a beautiful and diverse Canada. We will continue to build a community of inclusion and togetherness and will never allow these cowardly acts to sway us.”
“Equality is a value Albertans cherish, which makes our province a place of hope and opportunity for all,” Notley said. “No act of hate will ever change that.”
Watch below: On April 29, 2014, Jill Croteau filed this report on the Calgary Police Hate Crimes Unit investigation into a swastika spray-painted on a Calgary synagogue.
A photo of the poster is posted below.
A spokesperson for the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre said numerous synagogues across Canada received the same poster.
“Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre (FSWC) is dismayed to learn that synagogues in multiple cities, including Edmonton, Hamilton, Toronto and Montreal, have received disturbing and threatening antisemitic mailings,” a statement to Global News read.
“The unmarked letters depicted in graphic style a swastika embedded in a yellow Jewish star dripping with blood accompanied by the words ‘Jewry Must Perish.’
“The timing of these incidents — as celebrations marking Chanukah and the ancient story of survival draw to a close for this year, while the Jewish community is still in shock from news of the violent deaths of two beloved community leaders — makes them all that more despicable,” FSWC president Avi Benlolo said.
“Police services have begun investigations. Anyone with further information should contact their local police departments as soon as possible.”
Global News has reached out to the Edmonton Police Service for details and will update this article when police provide a response.
Hanukkah began on the evening of Dec. 12 and ends on Friday evening. The Jewish holiday commemorates the rededication of the Temple of Jerusalem after its defilement by Antiochus of Syria.
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