Vancouver Jewish community fearful after online threats
Posted October 12, 2023 3:54 pm.
Last Updated October 12, 2023 10:08 pm.
Some Jewish parents in Vancouver will be keeping their kids home from school on Friday amid an increase in threatening social media posts against the community.
Among those is Gabe Garfinkel, who says he’s received an email detailing a message from the terrorist group Hamas calling for a worldwide “general mobilization” against Jewish people on Oct. 13.
While he’s not sure how valid the threats are locally, he tells CityNews he’s not taking any chances.
“We have to take them seriously, even in Vancouver,” he said.
“A lot of people are scared. A lot of people don’t know what’s going to happen. Terrorists win when they cause terror, when they cause fear and because of the scale and scope of what happened in Israel, we have to take those threats seriously.”
Garfinkel says he’s in a group chat with other parents at his child’s Jewish daycare, many of whom are expressing similar fears.
“About 75 per cent are deciding that they’re going to take the day off,” he said. “We’ve decided that out of an abundance of caution that we’re going to keep our kid out, and it’s sad that we have to do that.”
He adds that many parents are also sending their kids to the Vancouver Talmud Torah School without uniforms, so they can’t be targetted.
“We live in fear. We have to think twice about sending our kid to childcare at a Jewish institution. But nothing compares to what Israelis or Gazans are going through right now,” he said.
Threats must be taken seriously, Jewish Federation CEO says
The fear for safety is something that’s being felt throughout the local Jewish community, says Ezra Shanken, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, who has also seen some of the threatening messaging.
“I think it’s very important to say to our people that we don’t have credible threats right now against our institutions. And I think that’s really good news and we are monitoring that,” he told CityNews.
Regardless of the credibility of the threats, Shanken says they still must be taken seriously.
“Where they came from is absolutely irrelevant at this point because they’re just as dangerous … If we don’t push back against them, they’re just as dangerous. They have power no matter who created them,” he explained.
“For the person out there, for the lone wolf out there who wants to do harm or who has terrible mental health issues, we worry that this is just the empowerment they need.
“If we don’t push back against this, this is the empowerment they need to do real damage to innocent lives here in our community.”
The Vancouver Police Department says in a statement to CityNews that it is aware of the safety concerns expressed.
“We will continue to work with our law-enforcement partners, community members, and faith leaders to support our neighbourhoods and keep everyone safe. We are maintaining our increased presence around places of worship and community centres, and will continue to deploy VPD officers to ensure all gatherings and demonstrations remain peaceful,” Sgt. Steve Addison said.
“While there is currently no specific threat to any location in Vancouver, we’re closely monitoring global events to assess the risk of violence and disorder in the city.”
B.C. Premier David Eby has also shared his concern over threats to kids in schools as a result of the Israel-Hamas war.
“What we’re really concerned about, obviously, are kids at schools [and] potential bullying, about how kids interpret what’s happening internationally, and supporting educators and school boards and responding to this,” the premier said in an interview with CityNews Thursday.
