Swastikas spray-painted on Winnipeg synagogue prompts investigation

An investigation is underway by police after swastikas were spray-painted on a Jewish synagogue in Winnipeg as the Sabbath was about to begin.

Winnipeg police are investigating after a synagogue says it was targeted by antisemitic graffiti just hours before the start of the Sabbath.

According to Congregation Shaarey Zedek, located on Wellington Crescent near the Maryland Bridge, surveillance video captured an individual spray-painting swastikas at the entrance of its building on Friday morning.

“We call on all Winnipeggers to stand up against hate,” said Senior Rabbi Carnie Shalom Rose in a post by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA). “What’s at stake is not just the safety of one community, but the future of our Canadian way of life.”

Images posted by the CIJA showed swastikas painted on four window panes and on a wall.

The CIJA said in its post that it was “deeply disturbed” by the incident at the synagogue, which has been in Winnipeg for nearly 140 years.

Gustavo Zentner, the CIJA vice-president for the Prairies, told Global News in an interview that the incident has a bigger impact than just the synagogue.

“When we see symbols of hate, pure evil, intimidation targeting the Jewish community, we know that this is not only an attack on the Jewish community, but it’s an attack on all Manitobans, on all Canadians,” Zentner said.

“Let me be clear, this isn’t only or just about an attack on the Jewish community, this is a signaling of certain individuals that no one is free in this country to celebrate, to practice their own faith, their own religions, their affinity with community and social institutions.”