Winnipeg Synagogue target of antisemitic graffiti

The executive director of Winnipeg’s oldest Jewish congregation hopes to share a message of unity, after an unknown individual vandalized the Shaarey Zedek synagogue with antisemitic graffiti this week.

“Hate against one group is hate against all of us,” Rena Secter Elbaze said, speaking to the Free Press on Saturday morning.

The incident, which was captured on video by security cameras, occurred at about 4:30 a.m. on Friday morning when a lone individual approached the synagogue, pulled out a can of spraypaint, and vandalized windows on the synagogue’s doors and part of the marble siding facing Wellington Crescent.

The graffiti included two swastikas, the word “hate,” and another word that may be an acronym, the meaning of which was not immediately clear. Synagogue maintenance staff discovered the graffiti when they arrived for work later that morning, and quickly scrubbed most of it clean.

On Saturday morning, Winnipeg police confirmed the incident is under investigation by the service’s Major Crimes Unit, but were not able to give any more information.

Elbaze spoke to the congregation about the vandalism during worship services on Saturday morning.

“We wanted the community to know, because we don’t want them to think we’re hiding anything, and we would rather take it very seriously,” Elbaze said. “You don’t want to take these things lightly, but we also don’t want people to feel intimidated. We didn’t want people to feel afraid to come to synagogue this morning.”

The Shaarey Zedek congregation, which was founded in 1889, has worshipped at the corner of Wellington Crescent and the Maryland Bridge since 1950. Over the years it has faced other incidents of antisemitic graffiti, which is always removed very quickly.

After this latest incident, Elbaze said, some members of the congregation expressed feeling unsafe, especially in the wake of the antisemitic terrorist attack in Australia’s Bondi Beach last month. But others said they felt confident in the synagogue’s security protocols and wanted to show up, believing that it was important to affirm their presence.

“We have a long history in Winnipeg, in this community. We feel we have our place here, and we don’t want to be isolated or intimidated,” Elbaze said. “This is a long, deeply rooted community, and it’s nice to know that we’re supported, and this type of thing isn’t tolerated.”

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca