Car defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti
A couple from Notre-Dame-deGrâce were the target of a hate crime on Wednesday when a woman’s car was vandalized with a drawing of a swastika and an antiSemitic message.
Steve Shivalofsky, the partner of the woman (who asked to remain anonymous), said she left their home around 4 p.m. to run an errand when she noticed a note left on the driver’s side of the car, asking her to check the passenger’s side. When she went over, she saw the swastika and the anti- Semitic phrase.
The woman contacted police at Station 11 and was reportedly told to wash the sign off her car, which was not the response she expected.
Shivalofsky told the Montreal Gazette he was shocked and angered by the vandalism, adding that he and his partner have never been targeted by hate crimes before.
He said he contacted Corey Fleischer, the founder of the Erase Hate movement, which aims to remove graffiti with any form of hateful or discriminatory content free of charge.
Fleischer posted a video on his Facebook page about the incident.
He told the Montreal Gazette that he knew Shivalofsky prior to the incident, since they used to play softball together. He said this was the first time he knew the victim of one of these hate crimes, making it even more personal for Fleischer.
“This is a major hate crime, scrawled on the side of a car, against a Jewish family, which is absolutely ludicrous,” he said.
Shivalofsky said that while one police officer apologized for mishandling the case, other officers tried justifying their inaction. He said he was told that since this was a one-time incident, the vandals were most likely not specifically targeting the woman and Shivalofsky. He felt this was an inadequate response.
Avi Benlolo, president and CEO of Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, voiced concern over police inaction in the case.
“As the number of hate crimes against Jewish people continues to be at an all-time high in Canada, it’s up to the police to ensure these incidents are dealt with seriously and action is taken to prevent future incidents,” Benlolo said in a communiqué.
Montreal police started a hatecrimes unit in 2016.
In related news, B’nai Brith Canada said on Friday that Caroline Cournoyer, commander of the hate-crimes unit, confirmed to the group that an investigation had been launched after B’nai Brith filed a complaint about a rapper from the U.S. who spends a lot of time in Montreal.
B’nai Brith notes that Jonathan Azaziah, also known as Madd Cold, has referred to himself as “the Iraqi destroyer of Jewish lies.”