Edmonton Jewish organizations targeted by bomb threats in national wave

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A series of bomb threats is being taken seriously in Edmonton, and appears to be part of a national wave of threats, said Steven Shafir, chairman of the community relations committee for the Jewish Federation of Edmonton, as well as past president.

“Over the last day and a half, over 100 Jewish institutions and hospitals across Canada have been targeted by a series of emails that have threatened that there were bombs placed within various buildings belonging to Jewish organizations throughout the country, including several here in Edmonton,” Shafir said.

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“We take every threat seriously. We remain vigilant as a result of these threats, but we will not be intimidated.”

The Edmonton Police Service was notified Wednesday that multiple synagogues in Edmonton received threats.

“At this time, investigators believe these are related to a series of threats received by multiple Jewish institutions across Canada, and there is currently no immediate concern for public safety,” said EPS communications adviser Carolin Maran.

“The EPS continues to work closely with its police partners across Canada to investigate these threats.”

The president of the Calgary Jewish Federation told Postmedia the local community wasn’t spared.

“These threats are based solely on hate and the desire to threaten and hurt Jews. The incitement we continue to see across our country has not only caused this behaviour, it has encouraged it. All Canadians — particularly our elected leaders — need to use their voices to finally stop this targeted hate and intimidation,” said Lisa Libin.

Reports from Canada’s Jewish community say there’s been an increase in antisemitic incidents and threats since the start of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza last October.

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Reports from the country’s Muslim and Arab communities say they’ve experienced the same phenomenon, Postmedia reported.

Ottawa police say they were on site at several hospitals in that city but indicated the RCMP is taking the lead on the investigation.

A spokeswoman from the Queensway Carleton Hospital in Ottawa said the police determined the situation was “low risk,” but an extensive sweep had been carried out at the hospital and grounds.

On its X social media account, Ottawa’s Jewish community pointed to graffiti attacks late last month on walls near a synagogue and Jewish day school that included what it calls symbols of the militant group Hamas.

From a photo posted on X, some of the graffiti appeared to include references to Israeli military assaults with the vandalism “an attempt to intimidate as our community walked for Israel and against antisemitism,” they stated on the account.

Statistics Canada says Jewish people have been the most frequent target of hate crimes, with the number of such antisemitic acts increasing in recent years.

It says police-reported hate crimes directed at Jewish people across Canada rose from 306 in 2019 to 502 in 2022.

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Shafir said Wednesday’s threats appear, in the moment, to be a nuisance.

“We’re actively working with law enforcement as needed in order to assist them with their investigation.

“We’re hopeful that the police are able to to bring the perpetrators of this to justice,” he said.  

Shafir estimated there are about 5,000 individuals in Edmonton who identified as Jewish in the most recent census, and the majority are affiliated with one of the city’s Jewish congregations. There are an estimated 9,000 Jews in Calgary, and smaller centres in smaller cities, including Lethbridge, Red Deer, Fort McMurray and Canmore.

With files from The Canadian Press

jcarmichael@postmedia.com

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