The Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre in the Annex wants to install three steel bollards to protect against the threat of a vehicle attack.
Coun. Diane Saxe, who represents the riding where the Jewish community centre is located, said the bollards are necessary as hate crimes rose in Toronto following the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks that killed 1,200 Israelis, and the ensuing Israel-Hamas war that has claimed tens of thousands of lives in Gaza.
“This is an increasing problem and the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre is a particularly vulnerable location,” Saxe said.
The request comes as vehicle attacks continue to be a means of indiscriminate violence across the world. Just last week, two people were killed and over 30 were injured after a man drove into a crowd in Munich, Germany. Fourteen people were killed by the driver of a pickup truck in New Orleans on New Year’s Day.
Toronto still bears the scars of the 2018 van attack on Yonge Street in North York that killed 10 people. Just days after the attack, concrete barricades were erected at other major pedestrian centres like Union Station.
Late last year, the city installed new “anti-terror” barriers at the country’s busiest train station.
“There are constant threats against Jews,” Saxe said. “Hate against Jews is at levels we haven’t seen since the 1930s.”
Ryla Braemer, Miles Nadal’s executive director, said the rise in antisemitic hate crimes is the main reason the community centre wants to install the bollards.
In Oct. 2024, Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw said hate crimes against Jewish people rose 69 per cent in the year following the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks.
“While many different communities have been targeted, the greatest increase has been against the Jewish community,” he said.
In 2023, 368 hate crimes were reported to the Toronto Police, a 48 per cent increase over 2022. In Oct. and Nov. 2023, there were 40 and 48 hate crimes, respectively, two of the three highest monthly totals for the year.
Hate crimes against Jewish people rose 74 per cent in 2023, from 84 to 146 incidents.
The statistics for hate crimes against Palestinian people are much less robust. Data only exists for 2019 and 2023, with two and nine reported hate crimes, respectively.
Despite the rising tide, Braemer said she is “relieved” the centre hasn’t yet faced a violent threat, unlike other Jewish community institutions in the city. Still, Miles Nadal has taken several steps to increase safety measures, she said.
Saxe said the steel bollards will help protect the community centre’s patrons.
“When the little children are lined up outside the building, they are less likely to be murdered. When there are thousands of people coming and going on Rosh Hashanah, they’re less likely to be murdered,” she said.
Braemer noted that Miles Nadal also houses a daycare and school with over 400 children entering and exiting the building every weekday.
The bollards only help hedge against one kind of attack, Saxe said.
“Even with the bollards, that doesn't mean that people feel safe going to daycare or the synagogue. It just means that one kind of murderous weapon will be hampered,” Saxe said. “It's a long way from safety.”
The Miles Nadal community centre would foot the bill and only needs council’s permission to erect the four-foot steel posts because they encroach onto the sidewalk. The request will go before the Toronto and East York Community Council next week.
EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to include comments from the executive director of the Miles Nadal Jewish Community Centre.
