Jews were religious minority most-targeted for hate crimes in Canada in 2021

Canadian Jews faced a 47% increase in hate crimes from 2020.

By David Hellerman, World Israel News

Jews were the Canadian religious minority most-targeted for hate crimes in 2021, according to Statistics Canada, the national statistics agency.

Statistics Canada reported on Tuesday that Jews were victims of 14 percent of Canada’s reported hate crimes despite making up just 1% of the population. The report also noted that Jews faced a 47% increase in hate crimes compared to 2020.

According to the report, only black Canadians suffered a higher rate of hate crimes.

Overall hate crimes against all demographic groups rose 27% from 2020 and 72% over two years.

Statistics Canada stressed that the numbers were based solely on hate crimes reported to the police.

The Statistics Canada report focused on rising rates of overall crime, which it attributed to “unprecedented disruptions” to society stemming from the coronavirus pandemic.

Shimon Koffler Fogel, head of the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency he was “deeply concerned” by the findings.

“This disturbing trend clearly proves the need for more proactive measures to stop the rising hate targeting diverse Canadians based on their identity,” Koffler said.

“Statistically, Canadian Jews were more than 10 times more likely than any other Canadian religious minority to report being the target of hate crime,” Fogel noted. “This is alarming.”

Canada has 380,000 Jews. Most live in and around Toronto and Montreal, the country’s two most populous cities.