Anti-Semitic incidents in Canada reach record high

Anti-Semitic incidents in Canada rose to record levels in 2009, according to the Bnai Brith organization's annual audit, showing an 11.4% increase in incidents over the previous year 2008 and the highest number in the audit's 28 year history.

There were 1,264 anti-Jewish incidents in 2009 including acts of harassment, vandalism and violence. The highest number of incidents for 2009 occured in January, coinciding with the Israel Defense Forces three-week operation in the Gaza Strip. Another spike occured just before Yom Kippor when ten synagogues were vandalized across Canada including four in Quebec in one night.