As the Jewish community in Canada enters its High Holy Days celebrations this week, police in Toronto, a city with one of the highest rates of antisemitic incidents in Canada, are vowing to increase security in a bid to keep Toronto’s Jewish community safe.
During a press conference hosted by the Toronto Police Service and attended by Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, the city’s police chief Myron Dimkew said police would be deploying “task force guardian” officers armed with patrol rifles as well as counter-terrorism security units to Toronto’s Jewish neighbourhoods, community centres and synagogues.
The increased presence will run during the Jewish holidays, including Rosh Hashanah from September 11 to 13, and Yom Kippur on September 20 and 21st, with sustained presence during the third anniversary of the Hamas-led October 7 terror attacks in Israel.
