graffiti

By Dan Laxer
The Suburban

“Now, here’s the thing.”

Rabbi Lisa Grushcow posted a video on Instagram, last week, calling upon Gentiles to show up for the Jewish community. Her synagogue, Temple Emanu-El–Beth Sholom in Westmount, was “the latest target of antisemitic hate,” hit with hateful graffiti recently.

This happened on Shabbat – the Jewish day of rest – on Saturday, February 15. A Nazi swastika was painted on the side of the building on Sherbrooke Street.

“This is our holy space,” she said in her video, “where we come to pray, to build community, for our children to learn and to play and to grow, where we cook food for the hungry, where we do our bit to make a better world. This is a place where we try and open doors and build bridges.”

Police say there is an investigation under way.

Mayor Valérie Plante, whom the Jewish community has several times demanded do more to prevent and prosecute acts of antisemitism, posted on her X account that these kinds of incidents are unacceptable. “I had the pleasure of visiting the synagogue recently,” she wrote. “I can assure Rabbi Lisa Grushcow that the SPVM is investigating. We must all unite and denounce all forms of antisemitism.”

Grushcow pointed out that antisemitism is skyrocketing “in our city and around the world, the highest levels of government, in our schools and in our streets.” She asked, in her video, that the wider community be an active part of the solution.

“For some of us, what’s just as disturbing as these acts of antisemitism is the silence of our friends.”

Reach out to your Jewish friends, she said. “Educate yourself… to learn about how long and how deep the history of antisemitism is, and why hateful words and symbols matter so much.”

And she asked non-Jews to speak up: “If you hear something antisemitic – a joke, a comment – don’t wait for the Jewish person in the room to say something. And if there is no Jewish person in the room it’s even more important to say something. Be an ally,” she continued. “We know how to do this.”

She invited non-Jews to get to know more about Jewish life, to visit synagogues or community centres, to “pay attention to what we love and what we cherish about Jewish life, why we’re proud to be who we are.”

“Stand with me against antisemitism,” she asked. “Stand with me against hate. Enough is enough.”

Westmount Mayor Christina Smith condemned the painting of the swastika saying, ‘‘I condemn this antisemitic act in the strongest possible terms. Antisemitism, racism, and hatred of others have no place in Westmount. At times like these, we are fortunate to have the leadership of Rabbi Lisa Grushcow, whose wisdom and guidance serve as an example for us all. We must all take a stand to denounce these acts that in no way reflect the society in which most of us want to live and raise our children.’’ Smith added that the Westmount Public Safety team will “pay particular attention to the synagogues in the city and will also collaborate with the Service de police de Montréal (SPVM) in the investigation.”