More than 10 election signs in Aurora, Ont. vandalized with hateful graffiti

TORONTO -

Warning: The following content may be disturbing to some readers.

Police have confirmed that more than 10 election signs in Aurora, Ont. have been vandalized with hateful graffiti targeting the Jewish community.

The acts of vandalism were discovered around 6:30 a.m. on Tuesday, police say.

As the investigation remains ongoing, police have not released further details about the incidents, however at least two Liberal candidates have come forward to say that their signs were targeted.

Tony Van Bynen, candidate for Newmarket-Aurora, posted photographs of some of his signs from St. John’s Sideroad. A swastika along with the word “NAZIS” in capital letters can be seen written in spray paint.

“This morning, I was notified of acts of vandalism to some of my signs,” he said on social media. “I am sorry to members of the Jewish community who had to see these signs along St. John’s. There is absolutely no room for this kind of hatred in our community.”

The Liberal candidate for Aurora–Oak Ridges–Richmond Hill also posted photos of similar vandalism on her campaign signs.

“I was deeply disturbed to learn from (York Regional Police) that my signs were defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti,” Leah Taylor Roy said on Twitter Tuesday.

“Antisemitism and hate of any kind has no place in Aurora-Oak Ridges-Richmond Hill or anywhere in (Canada).”

The vandalism is the latest in a string of hateful graffiti targeting the Jewish community in Toronto. Over the last two weeks, a school, a synagogue, a bus shelter and multiple homes have been targeted with anti-Semitic messages.

Police have said they are treating the graffiti spray painted on Beth Sholom synagogue on Eglinton Avenue West, near Winnett Avenue, on Aug. 18 as a hate-motivated incident.

Investigators have not linked the acts of vandalism to one another.