Vandal-Proofing Synagogues in Toronto

"It's very important to acknowledge nobody in our synagogue was hurt. This took place off hours when the building was not occupied."

"The sad reality is, we've been through this quite a number of times already in the last 18 months."

"We are an early warning system, and if these things are not addressed, if they're not dealt with they don't get easier over time."

"...Without overdramatizing it, it can fairly be said, I think, at some point in history in our civil and western civilization, that the Jews are often the canary in the mine shaft."

Rabbi Joe Kanofsky, Kehillat ShaareiTorah synagogue, North Toronto

Toronto Police are seeking a suspect (left) in a hate-motivated mischief to religious property investigation after multiple windows were smashed (centre, right) at Kehillat Shaarei Torah early on Nov. 4, 2025. (Toronto Police Services handout/supplied photos/Composite image by The CJN)

 

Early this week in Toronto there was a vandalism attack against a synagogue. This was not the first time the Kehillat Shaarei Torah synagogue had been attacked, not the second, not the third, not even the fourth time that vandals has chosen to express their vile contempt for this Jewish house of worship. Synagogues everywhere have been forced to take extraordinary security precautions against just such events, and this synagogue was no exception. Yet despite those precautions to harden the synagogue environs against unauthorized night-time access, on Tuesday the synagogue saw its tenth act of vandalism that left the congregation shaken but philosophical.

 

Reports of smashed windows were reported to the Toronto Police Service and the response was swift. In a year and a half they had responded on nine previous occasions to the plight of this synagogue under attack by unseen perpetrators spurred by the force of antisemitic hatred. On arrival police found four smashed window panes. Despite that the synagogue had last year installed a steel fence and locked gate following earlier attacks. The temple added barriers and a CCTV system that the Canada Community Security Program helped to fund through the federal government releasing funds for that purpose to the wider community of houses of worship in the city.

 

The suspect whose image was captured on video, was described as a man in late teen years or early 20s, short dark hair and a lean physique, wearing dark clothing. He has not yet been identified. The perimeter fence did not keep this damage-determined individual from his purpose, nor did special lighting and the gate that is securely locked during the night hours. The rabbi had nothing but praise for the police service tasked to be present during the daylight hours when the synagogue is in use.

 

Yet neither their presence nor the fact that the synagogue hired a paid duty constable to be on site during seasons of special worship, deter whoever it was that felt the need to desecrate a house of worship. In the rabbi's mind were dread visions of a number of attacks that took place in the United States at synagogues there, when people were in attendance and became the victims of racist violence. A Pittsburgh shooting where people were killed on a Sabbath morning as an example; even a hostage-taking at a Texas synagogue.

 

What can be seen as additionally distressing to the rabbi of this synagogue and some of the members of the synagogue's congregation; that no one from any of the nearby Christian churches expressed dismay and/or support when this occurred. The rabbi did receive word of commiseration and concern from other synagogues across the city, but nothing whatever from his Christian counterparts. 

 

A smashed window at Kehilat Shaarei Torah synagogue in Toronto, Ontario, following the latest act of vandalism — the tenth antisemitic attack targeting the congregation since October 7th massacre. Photo: Social media.

"I have heard politicians over the last couple of years say things which to me ring like platitudes, where they say, 'violence has no place in our society'. Violence has quite a big place, because violence is what people use to intimidate others, and to harm and to disrupt."

"So to say it has no place in our society is really inaccurate and misleading, because it has quite a great place."

"What they should say is, 'we will not tolerate, we will not stand for, we will not permit, and we will not rest until we stamp out as best as we can those forces in our society."

"When we stand together, when our leaders, religious and civic leaders, are together and united against hatred, not just antisemitism, but hatred of any minority group, of any small group within our society, it doesn't stand a chance."

"And when people are silent, people take that as acquiescence. It's not a complicated equation."

Rabbi Joe Kanofsky