CIJA: Leaders Must Tackle Sources of Hate

Desecration of National Holocaust Monument Latest Example of Vile Acts of Antisemitism Fueled by False Narratives about Israel 

Ottawa, ON – June 10, 2025 – Yesterday, the National Holocaust Monument in Ottawa was defaced with vile antisemitic graffiti. The Ottawa Police Service’s Hate and Bias Crime Unit is investigating the act of vandalism. 

In response to the hate crime, Noah Shack, Interim President, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, released the following statement: 

“The desecration of Canada’s Holocaust Memorial was fueled by a climate where incendiary rhetoric and false narratives about Israel are increasingly used to target Jews in Canada and around the world. 

“The normalization of antisemitism and Jew hatred within the Pro-Palestinian movement, with regular calls for violence, has set the stage for disturbing attacks on the Jewish community and on our shared values as Canadians. 

“All levels of government across party lines spoke out against this hate crime and rallied around the principle that deliberately targeting victims of the Holocaust is not an act of protest. What’s urgently needed is for our leaders to tackle the sources of hate driving vile acts of antisemitism.”  

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