Live UpdateFrom the Liveblog of Wednesday, August 3, 2022

Canada says Jews were most-targeted religious minority for hate crimes last year

By JTA 3 August 2022, 5:31 pm Edit
Illustrative: A protester waves a Canadian flag in front of parked vehicles on Rideau Street at a protest against COVID-19 measures that has grown into a broader anti-government protest, in Ottawa, Ontario, Friday, Feb. 11, 2022. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)
Illustrative: A protester waves a Canadian flag in front of parked vehicles on Rideau Street at a protest against COVID-19 measures that has grown into a broader anti-government protest, in Ottawa, Ontario, Friday, Feb. 11, 2022. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press via AP)

Canada’s 380,000 Jews were the most targeted religious minority for hate crimes reported to police in 2021, the country’s official numbers keeper report.

Statistics Canada says that the Jewish community, comprising about 1% of the population, were victims of 14% of reported hate crimes. Jews saw a 47% rise in reported hate crimes compared to 2020, according to the bureau.

“We are deeply concerned that incidents of hate crimes rose yet again in Canada in 2021,” says Shimon Koffler Fogel, head of the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs. “This disturbing trend clearly proves the need for more proactive measures to stop the rising hate targeting diverse Canadians based on their identity.”

Only Black Canadians, who make up about 3.5% of the country’s population, reported more hate crimes. Overall, 1.3 Canadian Jews in every 1,000 reported being victims of hate crime in 2021.

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