The Vancouver Police Department published a press release stating that the increased frequency of antisemitic hate crimes in Canadian society in 2023 is due to the Israel-Hamas war.
Vancouver Police said that, throughout 2023, they investigated 265 hate crime reports, which constituted a 31% increase from the previous year. Reports of antisemitic hate crimes increased 62% from 2022 when there had only been 22 reports. More than half, 33 out of the 47 antisemitic hate crime reports, happened after October 7, reports The Jerusalem Post.
Additionally, 50 crimes connected to the Israel-Hamas war were investigated, including assaults against police officers and cases of obstructing police, with suspects involved in the crimes only being identified in just over half the investigations so far.
The statement of the police also claimed that since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the department has had to shell out more than $2.5 million in overtime costs to police officials.
While Vancouver’s police experienced a significant budget change as a result of the increased hate crimes and protests, the increase in reported hate crimes is significantly lower than the global trend. A report published in November by the Combating Antisemitism Ministry, in partnership with numerous other groups, found that antisemitism had increased globally by 1180%.
Photo credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
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