Ottawa police probing defacement of National Holocaust Monument as hate crime

Globe and Mail

4 hours ago

The Ottawa Police Service confirmed an act of vandalism on the National Holocaust Monument is being investigated by its hate crime unit.
The words 'FEED ME' were found scrawled in red paint across the front of the monument Monday morning. Red paint was splashed on other parts of it as well.
Ottawa police said they are treating the incident with the utmost seriousness, noting the impact such crimes have on the community.
'Reporting hate-motivated incidents is an important step in stopping cycles of hatred,' the service said in a statement.
There has been an increase in reports of hate crime in Canada in recent years, which police agencies across the country link explicitly to the outbreak of war between Hamas and Israel in October, 2023. Police-reported hate crimes rose 32 per cent in 2023 compared with 2022. There has also been an increase of crimes targeting Jews in Canada, with 900 crimes reported in 2023, compared with 527 the year before.
A petition condemning the vandalism in Ottawa was tabled in Parliament Monday by Conservative MP Tamara Kronis, who said 'the government must enforce the law and protect Jewish Canadians from hate, violence and intimidation.'
Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture Steven Guilbeault also issued a strong condemnation. 'This monument honours the courage of survivors and the memory of the six million Jews murdered during one of humanity's darkest chapters,' he said. 'Acts of antisemitism, hatred and intolerance are attacks on us all – and they will never be tolerated in Canada.'
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Deborah Lyons, Canada's Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combating Antisemitism, said she was 'crushed' when she saw that the monument had been vandalized.
She said that this was an antisemitic hate crime targeting Jews who have no connection to the Israeli government or its policies in Gaza.
'This is not a way to address the concerns that people have, either about what's happening in the Middle East or certainly about what's happened in our own country with the high spike of antisemitism,' Ms. Lyons said.
Ottawa resident Robert Harmer, who lives close to the monument, called the vandalism 'a shame.'
'These monuments help us remember history – even the painful parts. Defacing something like the Holocaust Monument isn't protest; it's going too far.'
Andres Bermudez, a resident and worker from Gemma Property Services involved in the cleanup, said the act was 'disrespectful and harmful.'
'These monuments attract tourists and beautify the city,' he said. 'Vandalism isn't the way to be heard. It's costly to clean up defaced walls, and the money comes from taxpayers.'
Lawrence Greenspon, co-chair of the monument committee, spoke of his own family's experience of antisemitism.
'My father is a Holocaust survivor. His sister and his mother and father were all killed. My daughter is named after his sister,' Mr. Greenspon said.
'When somebody defaces the National Holocaust Monument, it is personal and it hurts, and particularly when it is such an act of hatred and antisemitism.'
With a report from The Canadian Press