Escalating ethnic tension crime a concern, police say

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 26/10/2023 (712 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Police are investigating multiple crimes suspected of being motivated by hate over the past month — including a shooting at a Winnipeg home — as tensions escalate in the Israel-Gaza war.

“We are without a doubt… seeing an escalation in some of these events,” Winnipeg Police Service spokesman Const. Jason Michalyshen told a news conference Thursday.

“We want to provide the public with the reassurance that officers are attending these matters.”

Michalyshen, alongside several other prominent WPS officials, described a series of ongoing investigations — the most concerning of which took place Sunday, when a home in the River Heights neighbourhood had a window shattered in what police believe could be a targeted shooting.

Residents in the home phoned police after hearing their front window smash around 4:30 a.m. Investigators later discovered the window had been shot, Michalyshen said.

Nobody was injured, but the major crime unit is investigating the crime as “hate motivated” because the home had a religious symbol displayed near the door, he said.

Police would not elaborate on what kind of religious symbol it was.

The list of investigations shows the severity of suspected hate crimes in Winnipeg has continued to escalate since Oct. 7, when Hamas militants launched a surprise terror attack against Israel.

Within the first few days of the conflict, police received multiple reports of eggs thrown at doors of homes in the city’s southwest.

Then on Oct. 12, officers were called to a parking lot on the 100 block of Harrow Street for a report of a vandalized religious item.

On Oct. 13, more “concerning” graffiti was reported on a shed near a school and place of worship in River Heights.

“People are very worried, there is a real fear and anxiety in the Jewish community,” said Liberal MP Ben Carr, whose riding includes the south Winnipeg neighbourhood.

Carr submitted multiple photos to the Free Press of graffiti depicting antisemitic symbols and rhetoric. He said his constituents have spotted such vandalism the area, which is home to the largest Jewish population in Manitoba.

He acknowledged members of Winnipeg’s Muslim community may be seeing similar vandalism.

Multiple “racially motivated social media posts” were also reported between Oct. 15 and 24, police said.

No charges have been laid relating to any of the investigations.

“People are very worried, there is a real fear and anxiety in the Jewish community.”–Liberal MP Ben Carr

Police are searching for suspects, and continue to monitor attendance at numerous protests and rallies that have sprung up in the wake of the conflict in the Middle East, Michalyshen said.

Supt. Dave Dalal, who leads a team of officers tasked with monitoring such events, said officers have documented a concerning trend of counter-protesting increasing risk and amplifying emotions at mass demonstrations.

Dalal noted rocks were thrown last Saturday during a pro-Palestinian protest. Police were forced to intervene in a separate event the following day, when supporters from the Jewish and Palestinian communities charged one another after an Israeli flag was trampled on.

He asked organizers to refrain from scheduling simultaneous events, in an effort to avoid potential conflicts and de-escalate tensions across the city. Police also want protests to remain in a single location, rather than marching elsewhere.

“This is a substantial draw on police resources,” Dalal said. “We are not trying to police beliefs (but) we are concerned about the behaviour at these events.”

Ron East, founder of the Israeli Canadian Council and prominent counter-protest organizer, said he met with police officials Wednesday to discuss their concerns. Ramsey Zeid, president of the Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba, was also in attendance.

Both men said the discussion was positive, and they are hopeful it will serve as the first step toward alleviating tensions.

Still, the meeting will not change plans for events in the immediate future.

Zeid has organized a Palestinian rally to take place Saturday on Memorial Boulevard, while East plans to lead a counter-protest on the nearby grounds of the Manitoba legislature at the same time.

“I explained to the police why it is important for my community to have our counter-protests on the same days and in the same place as the Palestinian protests for a variety of reasons, from media attention, to monitoring what’s happening on the other side,” East said.

“A variety of things have been going on and been escalating since the beginning of the conflict, which raised a lot of concern on the side of our community.”

Zeid said he hopes the counter-protest is not meant to intimidate or instigate a conflict between the two parties.

“People’s emotions are high… so when they see people doing a counter-rally, or people say things from the other side, people get upset,” he said. “We don’t want to go close to them, we don’t want to have any violence and we don’t want to be breaking any laws. Safety is our No. 1 concern.”

The Jewish Federation of Winnipeg has similarly spoken against counter-protesting.

“Counter-protests are not an effective tool to change minds and only inflame tensions and polarization between both sides,” it wrote in a statement last week. “If you still feel compelled to attend, please exercise safety and do not engage directly with the other side.”

East believes the counter-protests have encouraged police to more seriously investigate suspected hate crimes against the Jewish community, which he said had been overlooked in recent weeks.

His organization may consider scheduling rallies on different days in the future to avoid conflicts, he said.

tyler.searle@freepress.mb.ca

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca