The Beset-by-Racist-Hate Belleville Jewish Community

"Two weeks after the near massacre at Belleville Synagogue, residents of the city and nearby communities, including members of the Jewish community, say they’re feeling targeted again after hateful antisemitic flyers were discovered at the synagogue building itself as well as distributed at neighboring homes. Belleville police are investigating. They haven’t released many details. B’nai Brith Canada says these Belleville flyers are believed to be influenced by or even linked to a US-based neo-Nazi group called the Goyim Defense League."

"It distributes these antisemitic materials and blames Jews for everything from COVID to abortion and other white supremacist theories. Several Jewish advocacy groups say the GDL has made inroads into Canada in recent years. The Belleville synagogue shooter apparently blamed Jews for being responsible for COVID, and his refusal to take a vaccine while serving in the Canadian Armed Forces led in part to his being kicked out in 2022. Jewish groups warn that online libels and conspiracies about Jews and Israelis are fueling hate and violence against Canadians."

Ellin Bessner, The Canadian Jewish News   

Antisemitic flyer left at Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ontario on October 1, 2026.

(photo credit: X/SCREENSHOT/@Ryan_r_Williams)

 In Belleville, Ontario, residents suddenly found themselves the recipients of vile antisemitic flyers distributed in the east end of the city. A follow-up to the terrorist attack by a former member of the Canadian Military who had gone on a psychotic tear, armed and prepared to enter the Sons of Jacob Synagogue during the evening Yom Kippur service with assembled congregants whom he intended to become victims of a mass slaughter. Stopped by the presence of a Belleville police officer in an unmarked vehicle who became the assassin's first victim. Now recovering from his serious injuries, Constable Jeff Smith and a colleague who soon arrived as backup, managed between them to disable the attacker who later died in hospital from his injuries.

 

"It was so soon after the shooting. What's going on here?" asked the synagogue president Norman Weddum. The September 20 apprehended terror attack left the small congregation of the southern Ontario city in a state of shocked recovery, certainly in no condition to face unrelenting antisemitic attacks on an ongoing basis in their longtime community. The outrageously hateful propaganda of unremitting conspiracy theories, outright lies that no one in their right mind could even consider as reflective of reality serves to dent the community's sense of security.  

"Just over a week ago, I was there that night of the shooting, and like many in our community, I had only begun the process of trying to heal and regain a sense of safety."

"Seeing these flyers posted around the east side of Belleville near the synagogue yesterday has brought that night and all those emotions rushing back."

"Yesterday was a very difficult day."

Doug Lobel, synagogue congregant, Belleville resident 

According to Mr. Weddum, there were "a lot" of flyers distributed, that messaged and promoted conspiracy theories that blame Jews for the COVID-19 pandemic, abortion, gun control and mass immigration. Whether a single individual was responsible for the distribution, or a group that had fanned out to cover as much ground as possible before their presence was detected, was unknown. 

 

 

 

Discharged from the Canadian Armed Forces as a  result of refusing to be vaccinated against COVID, the synagogue attacker weeks before had theorized that Jews were to blame for COVID. A video where he could be heard shouting "You are going to die for the Jews", before he attempted to murder Corporal Jeff Smith en route to entry to the Synagogue and its congregants, was shared by police. The shooting, they said, had deliberately targeted the Jewish community; the attacker having the "means, the motive and the mechanisms" to carry out a larger attack. 

 

Since the distribution of the flyers by a group calling themselves the "Goyim Defence League", obviously named in mockery after the now-defunct, decades old Jewish Defence League led by ordained U.S. rabbi Meier Kahane, Belleville Police have assured Jewish residents that the "flyers being distributed in the east end of Belleville containing antisemitic messaging" have alerted police to "taking proactive steps to support the safety and well-being of residents". 

 

Measures such as increased patrols at places of worship include other community gathering areas. The GoFundMe account that was set up to rebuild the synagogue along with one to support Constable Jeff Smith has raised close to $1 million on the part of the Canadian Jewish community. Constable Mike McCurdy escaped injury when the two police officers shot back at the would-be assassin, but another fundraiser was initiated on his behalf as "the emotional toll of this experience is significant, and mental recovery is just as vital as physical healing". 

 

Residents of Belleville, Ont., including Jewish ones, found antisemitic flyers distributed at some homes and around residential areas. Flyers were also found plastered on the Sons of Jacob Synagogue, less than two weeks after the shooting attack and exchange of gunfire outside its doors on Yom Kippur that left the gunman dead and a police officer hospitalized with multiple injuries. (Credit: Submitted photo/The CJN)