Hundreds of anti-Israel protesters, primarily university students, rally at Toronto’s Nathan Phillips Square on Oct. 28, 2023. Photo by Sayed Najafizada/NurPhoto

Jews have been the victims of 57 percent of all hate crimes in Toronto since Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre across southern Israel despite being just 3.6 percent of the Canadian city’s population, according to newly released police data.

The Toronto Police Service (TPS) reported on Tuesday that 56 of the 98 hate crimes that have occurred in the city from Oct. 7 to Dec. 17 were antisemitic incidents. Compared to the same period in 2022, the number of hate crimes targeting the Jewish community this year has more than tripled.

Overall, police say 338 hate crimes have occurred in Toronto so far this year since January, with those targeting Jews accounting for 43 percent of the total. The 147 antisemitic incidents this year has nearly doubled the totals of 81 in 2022 and 82 in 2021.

In a press conference on Tuesday, Toronto police chief Myron Demkiw told reporters that the statistics do not represent hate crimes that law enforcement prevented.

“It is almost impossible to measure what you prevent,” Demkiw said, according to Canadian press reports. “We know that communities feel safer for our efforts. In instances where, despite our best efforts, crimes have been committed, our dedicated teams of highly trained investigators have worked tirelessly to bring those responsible to justice.”

Muslims have also been victims of hate crimes in the city. TPS disclosed that 20 such incidents targeting Muslims and Arabs have occurred since Oct. 7, and that 37 have been reported all year.

“We are steadfast in our resolve to ensure that Palestinian, Muslim, Jewish — all communities for that matter — are kept safe from acts of hatred and violence,” Demkiw added on Tuesday. “While the Jewish, Palestinian, and Muslim communities have demonstrated tremendous resiliency during these incredibly challenging times, as a police service we continue to be resolute, committed to ensuring public safety and security, while also ensuring that the constitutional right to free speech is maintained. This is a delicate balancing.”

Last September, the city  launched the “Toronto For All” campaign to encourage citizens to “confront” and “eliminate” antisemitism and other bigotries. Literature stressing the importance of reporting hate crimes and supporting victims of antisemitism was distributed to the public while city officials put up messaging in high traffic locations.

The initiative followed disturbing incidents throughout the city.

In May 2022, an Uber Eats deliveryman drove up to Toronto’s Yeshiva Gedolah, accosting students and saying he would “kill 30 Jews today.” The disturbing scene was witnessed by the school’s cook, who was punched in the face after asking the man to leave. Just two months later, in July, Toronto police arrested a man for spraying near York University a graffiti image of a Jew with sidelocks and a Star of David inside crosshairs next to a message that says, “Shoot a Jew in the head.”

Follow Dion J. Pierre @DionJPierre.