Toronto: Posters Depicting Children Hostages Defaced With Swastikas

In Toronto, posters featuring Ariel Bibas, aged four, and Kfir Bibas, aged one, along with their parents, Shiri and Yarden Bibas, who were abducted to Gaza on October 7, were defaced with swastikas on Tuesday.

Kfir Bibas, who was merely nine months old when the abduction occurred, became the youngest victim in the tragic event orchestrated by Hamas. He marked his first birthday while in captivity.

Various social media users, among them Michael Levitt, the President and CEO of Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, shared images of the vandalized posters. Levitt took to expressing his dismay, questioning the moral compass of those responsible: “What kind of sick monster vandalizes posters of kidnapped and murdered people, including babies and kids, with a swastika? Are there no limits to the hate in our city? No justification for this, not in Toronto, not anywhere. Mayor Olivia Chow please condemn! Toronto Police notified.”

Responding to Levitt’s call for action, Mayor Olivia Chow assured that measures would be taken promptly to address the defacement: “My office has been in contact with Parks, Forestry, and Recreation. They will quickly remove the vandalized posters.” She further condemned the despicable act, stating, “This is a vile act, and I condemn antisemitism in our city.”

Toronto and its environs have witnessed a surge in anti-Israel demonstrations and incidents of antisemitism since the commencement of Israel’s conflict with Hamas on October 7.

In early November, an Indigo bookstore located in downtown Toronto fell victim to vandalism, with red paint splattered across its facade and accusatory posters targeting its Jewish founder and CEO, Heather Reisman, alleging her involvement in “Funding Genocide.”

The unsettling trend persisted into January when a Jewish-owned grocery store in Toronto was defaced with graffiti bearing the slogan “Free Palestine,” and subsequently set ablaze.

Days later, Toronto law enforcement apprehended four individuals on a highway overpass close to a predominantly Jewish neighborhood, where recurrent pro-Palestinian protests had taken place.

In February, what began as an anti-Israel protest outside Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto evolved into a disturbing display of antisemitism, with at least one protester scaling the hospital facade brandishing a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) flag.

{Matzav.com}