Two more Toronto-area synagogues fired at on Shabbat, raising alarm among local Jews

JTA – Two more Toronto synagogues were hit with gunfire on Shabbat, making it three struck since last week. 

A shooter fired through the glass doors of Beth Avraham Yoseph of Toronto, a Modern Orthodox synagogue in the Thornhill neighbourhood, at about 11:45 on Friday. Two maintenance workers were still cleaning up from a Shabbat dinner. 

Just 30 minutes later, a shooter approached the Orthodox Shaarei Shomayim congregation in North York, about 6 miles (9.6km) south, and fired multiple rounds at the entrance. In both cases, only the buildings were damaged, and no injuries were reported. 

The Toronto Police Service (TPS), led by the gun and gang task force and hate crime unit, are investigating whether the two incidents are connected. As the investigation continues, TPS said it is maintaining an increased police presence around Jewish neighbourhoods, synagogues, and community institutions. 

The shootings come as Jewish security officials warn of possible threats to Jewish institutions connected to the US-Israel war against Iran. 

They also follow a shooting at a Toronto-area synagogue on 2 March, less than two hours after a Purim event there concluded, while the community’s rabbi was still inside. No injuries were reported. 

“This is a violent act of intimidation and part of a pattern of emboldened antisemitism that has no place in Toronto,” Mayor Olivia Chow said in a pre-recorded video statement on Saturday morning. “It must be stopped.” 

This week’s string of gunfire attacks is the latest iteration of attacks on Jewish institutions across Canada. In 2024, two Jewish girls’ schools in Montreal were shot at one week apart. 

“This threat is real,” said Sara Lefton, chief development officer of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, which sent a note on Friday night. “If three synagogue attacks in one week doesn’t prove that this is a very very real and live threat, I’m not sure what everyone is waiting for.”