Woman says she feels 'insecure' in Toronto after being unable to report antisemitic graffiti

A Jewish woman says she feels “insecure” in her own city after receiving no response to her repeated calls about antisemitic graffiti spotted at a bus stop Thursday afternoon.

“I had an appointment to get to and decided to take the TTC, which is not my usual. So, I walked into this particular stop, waiting for the bus, and saw this, and I just couldn’t believe it,” the woman, who CTV News Toronto is keeping anonymous given the rise of hate-motivated incidents since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, said.

In photos reviewed by CTV News Toronto, Hitler’s name can be seen scrawled over a portion of the bus stop’s sign in all-caps lettering, written in what appears to be black Sharpie at Bathurst and Wilson parkette’s bus stop sign.

“Honestly, I’m suddenly feeling insecure in my own city – a city that I grew up in,” she said.

She said she called 311 immediately to report it, at around 1:47 p.m., but was met with a message to call back later.

“They had this message that says that they’re, I can’t remember the exact phrasing, but it’s something like, ‘We’re inundated with calls today, call back another day,’” she said. “I thought, ‘Wait a minute, what?’ I can understand calling back later or take a message, nope just call a different day.”

She called again Friday morning, and said she was still met with the same message.

“While the City has been experiencing some difficulties with the phone system this week – including being unable to put up new phone messages – staff have been working around the clock to resolve the issue as quickly as possible,” Russell Baker, manager of media relations and issues management at the City of Toronto, told CTV News in a statement.

She also tried calling the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC)’s designated customer complaints line to report it, but said she was waiting for nearly an hour and 15 minutes – and was still not met with any response.

Hitler’s name can be seen on a Toronto bus stop at Bathurst and Wilson. A spokesperson for the TTC told CTV News Toronto in a statement that there were longer-than-normal wait times between 11:30 a.m. and noon on Friday.

“We have already dispatched staff to remove this vile graffiti immediately,” TTC spokesperson Stuart Green told CTV News Toronto in a statement. Just after 5:30 p.m., the transit agency confirmed it was removed.

Both the City and the TTC condemned the hate-motivated graffiti, saying there is a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination or harassment toward civilians.

Torontonians are urged to contact the TTC whenever hateful graffiti is spotted on a stop pole and the City of Toronto if it is plastered on a bus shelter, Green said. Transit riders could also call police, he suggested.

Throughout the city, residents are encouraged to contact 311 and during cases where the phone system may be experiencing difficulties, they can access its services online, through the mobile app or by emailing [e-mail].

As for the woman, she urges others to speak out when they see things like hateful graffiti.

“I would not have done anything. I would have looked at that thing and thought, ‘Oh, another moron,’ and kept on going,” she said. “But with everything that’s going on all over the world, all of a sudden, this sort of thing takes on more meaning.”