Police in several major Canadian cities are boosting their presence as important Jewish religious holidays coincide with the one-year anniversary next week of the Hamas attack on Israel.
Residents of Toronto, Calgary and Ottawa will see more officers in the coming days, according to police agencies in those cities. Also increasing visibility are police in York and Durham regions, jurisdictions to the north and east of Toronto, while some synagogues say they are also increasing their own security.
Monday will mark one year since Hamas fighters entered Israel, killed 1,200 people and took 251 hostages. Israel retaliated with attacks in Gaza that have displaced millions and killed more than 41,000 people, according to the Palestinian health authorities.
Since then, there have been attacks on the Jewish community in Canada, including shots fired at schools and increasing reports of hate crimes.
Pro-Palestinian protests have also become regular events in many Canadian cities. And there were campus encampments over the summer that, in some cases, were broken up by police
New demonstrations are expected this weekend as well as on the anniversary itself.
The heightened tension comes as Rosh Hashanah, the first of the Jewish high holidays, began at sunset on Wednesday. Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, begins at sunset next Friday.
Toronto’s police chief told a news conference on Wednesday that there would be additional officers deployed, both uniformed and not, though the force declined to provide numbers. There will also be three command posts stationed in heavily Jewish parts of the city, with another circulating among local mosques, the police service said.
“The Toronto Police Service will be a visible and reassuring presence for as long as is necessary,” said Chief Myron Demkiw.
“We know world events always have an impact here at home. This includes the potential for increased protest activity and acts of violence.”
Police and policymakers across the country have stressed the right to peaceful protest, while deploring a rise in reported antisemitism and seeking to reassure the Jewish community.
Ottawa Police posted on X that the force would step up officer presence around synagogues, mosques and community centres. In York Region, police put out a statement pledging increased patrols “near faith-based institutions, schools and community centres,” as well as establishing two command posts.
An e-mailed statement from Calgary Police promised more patrols near places of worship. It said their officers would monitor local demonstrations for safety, but stressed that “we police behaviour, not beliefs.”
Police forces in Montreal did not provide a response Wednesday when asked about whether they would increase their presence in the coming days, nor did the police force in Vancouver.
The Palestinian Youth Movement has organized many of the protests over the past year. That group and others have called for an “international day of action” on Saturday, with protests planned in cities such as Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal.
According to an Instagram post, the Palestinian Youth Movement is also planning a rally outside the Israeli consulate in Montreal on Monday.
The group’s chapters in Toronto and Montreal did not respond Wednesday to requests for comment.
Schools and universities in particular have faced pressure after allowing protest encampments and other behaviour critics say was hostile to Jewish students.
York University will hold a series of events from Oct. 7 to Oct. 10 to support members of its community affected by the Israel-Gaza conflict. There will be grief counselling available and community gatherings with facilitated reflection. Events for the Jewish diaspora and for the Palestinian and wider Arab diaspora groups will be held on separate days.
There will also be discussions on how to bridge divides and a seminar on free expression that will touch on the encampment protests.
Toronto’s Beth Tzedec congregation has invited middle- and high-school-aged children to come after school on Oct. 7 to support each other. It offered to provide rabbis and counsellors and said there would be time for reflection.
Ryan Bird, a spokesman for the public Toronto District School Board, said that the board shared mental-health and well-being resources with school administrators in advance of next week’s anniversary so they could provide information on supports to students and staff, “especially at this difficult time.”
The synagogue Kehillat Shaarei Torah, in north Toronto, is one of number of across Canada that have been vandalized since last October.
Michael Gilmore, executive director of the modern orthodox synagogue, says it has been targeted five times. Windows and doors were smashed, signs on the property set alight and then, when replaced, spray-painted. The congregation had already chipped in to improve surveillance cameras and the alarm system. Now they are hiring off-duty police for patrols.
“We are increasing our security over the next few weeks by a lot,” Mr. Gilmore said, citing both the anniversary and the religious holidays.
“Throughout our history we’ve had to deal with how do we celebrate times of joy while we’re also feeling immense pain, and we are kind of going through that struggle right now. But I think it’s an overall feeling of hope.”
With reports from Caroline Alphonso and Joe Friesen