Jewish man allegedly assaulted while walking dog in Toronto neighbourhood
A Toronto man says he became the target of an assault and anti-Semitic slurs while he was out walking his dog on Wednesday.
Sam Brody says he was walking his dog at around 9 a.m. near his midtown home when a man approached him.
“As we passed him, he stopped and body checked me into the fence here. I fell down to the ground," he said.
The 29-year-old man believes he was targeted because he was wearing a Jewish skullcap.
“This brazen assault comes amid an unprecedented surge of physical attacks on Canadian Jews,” B'nai Brith Canada writes in a statement. “A recent assault on a Jewish man near his home in broad daylight is just the latest in a disturbing trend of attacks on Jews stemming from anti-Israel sentiment."
Brody says the attack came out of nowhere, and he didn’t know what to do.
“I was scared, like I don’t know what he was going to do after that,” Brody said. “Someone to hit me like that out of the blue, knock me to the ground, say something like that … I don’t know what he was going to do next. I’m just scared, I’m still kind of scared now, shaken up.”
Brody now worries the man lives in his Yonge and Eglinton neighbourhood where he recently moved to with his wife.
Brody complained to Toronto police and said officers came by to interview him.
“At this time we can confirm that we have a report on file for an assault which occurred in the morning hours of Wednesday, July 28, 2021, in the Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue area,” police told CTV News Toronto. “The investigation is active and ongoing”
Brody posted about the assault on Facebook and while he was speaking with CTV Toronto on his street, a woman named Eden Spodek recognized him from the posting.
“I think it is horrible. I can’t believe this is 2021 and this is happening in Toronto. I’ve lived here most of my life. I’ve lived in a smaller centre,” Spodek said.
“I know what it is like to really be a minority, and be Jewish. It is just very disturbing, distressing. All hate crimes are equally disturbing and distressing."
B'nai Brith Canada reports that in May alone there were 154 incidents of harassment, 51 incidents of vandalism and 61 incidents of violence.
B'nai Brith Canada CEO Michael Mostyn tells CTV News Toronto that the Jewish community is scared.
“It is not acceptable and that is why we trust that police will find the perpetrator that the person will be prosecuted under the law,” he said.
“There needs to be consequences and individuals need to know that there is a red line when it comes to hate, hateful acts, hateful rhetoric will not tolerated in this country.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Young people 'tortured' if stolen vehicle operations fail, Montreal police tell MPs
One day after a Montreal police officer fired gunshots at a suspect in a stolen vehicle, senior officers were telling parliamentarians that organized crime groups are recruiting people as young as 15 in the city to steal cars so that they can be shipped overseas.
'It was joy': Trapped B.C. orca calf eats seal meat, putting rescue on hold
A rescue operation for an orca calf trapped in a remote tidal lagoon off Vancouver Island has been put on hold after it started eating seal meat thrown in the water for what is believed to be the first time.
Man sets self on fire outside New York court where Trump trial underway
A man set himself on fire on Friday outside the New York courthouse where Donald Trump's historic hush-money trial was taking place as jury selection wrapped up, but officials said he did not appear to have been targeting Trump.
Sask. father found guilty of withholding daughter to prevent her from getting COVID-19 vaccine
Michael Gordon Jackson, a Saskatchewan man accused of abducting his daughter to prevent her from getting a COVID-19 vaccine, has been found guilty for contravention of a custody order.
Mandisa, Grammy award-winning 'American Idol' alum, dead at 47
Soulful gospel artist Mandisa, a Grammy-winning singer who got her start as a contestant on 'American Idol' in 2006, has died, according to a statement on her verified social media. She was 47.
She set out to find a husband in a year. Then she matched with a guy on a dating app on the other side of the world
Scottish comedian Samantha Hannah was working on a comedy show about finding a husband when Toby Hunter came into her life. What happened next surprised them both.
B.C. judge orders shared dog custody for exes who both 'clearly love Stella'
In a first-of-its-kind ruling, a B.C. judge has awarded a former couple joint custody of their dog.
Saskatoon police to search landfill for remains of woman missing since 2020
Saskatoon police say they will begin searching the city’s landfill for the remains of Mackenzie Lee Trottier, who has been missing for more than three years.
Shivering for health: The myths and truths of ice baths explained
In a climate of social media-endorsed wellness rituals, plunging into cold water has promised to aid muscle recovery, enhance mental health and support immune system function. But the evidence of such benefits sits on thin ice, according to researchers.