Exactly a week ago, on Oct. 22, in a downtown parking lot in London, Ont., a construction worker used a pressure hose to spray a four-foot-wide swastika on the crushed gravel base of a parking lot.

Also on Oct. 22, in a midtown park in Halifax, someone rearranged the letters on a marquee sign to insult and harass the Muslim community. The sign originally invited the public to an open house at the Ummah mosque.  First, the words “Join us” were replaced by “Watch us”; when the sign was returned to “Join us,” once again someone replaced the words with “Dominate us.”  The sign was put back to Join us; then in a third effort to malign, were the words “Fear us.”  After the third defacement, the Atlantic Muslim Resource Centre decided to take away the sign entirely.  This happened during the province- and city-endorsed Muslim Heritage Month.

Well, each city has a problem, you may say.

Yes, but the important question is what happened when these incidents were reported?  In London,  a group of students from neighbouring  buildings had filmed the worker drawing the symbol on the gravel parking lot.  Apparently the students who live in nearby apartments are Jewish, as attested by a dad whose two daughters attend Western University.  He praised them; he said, “I think they’re strong and they were raised right, and they’re courageous. . . . I’m used to it. I deal with it on a daily basis. I don’t want my kids to have to see that shit.”

The father also warned that to allow “dehumanizing narratives about Israel and Jews to continue spreading across campuses will lead to more incidents involving Jewish students.”

Within 24 hours, the police had rounded up the culprit and charged him with “an offence [mischief] motivated by hate.”

“…. people who have leverage, people who have privileges– [should] initiate the conversation, … speak about it …”

Muhammad Yaffa, of the Atlantic Muslim Resource Centre

In Halifax, Good Samaritan John Wimberley had noticed someone had rearranged the plastic letters on the marquee sign in order to embarrass the Muslim community.  He contacted the mosque and spoke to the CBC. Muhammad Yaffa, spokesperson for the Atlantic Muslim Resource Centre thanked the Haligonian who “spotted the vandalism and alerted us.”  Yaffa said,

“We want elected officials and leaders of parties, of organizations, people who have leverage, people who have privileges– to initiate the conversation, to speak about it –not to wait for us.”

The Halifax police commented that the investigation is ‘ongoing’. No arrests have been made.

Let’s look at how exactly these two incidents, on the same day were amplified.  In the London case, more than 10 mainstream news and social media outlets reported the drawing of the swastika, the Jewish students’ reactions, the police arrests and comments.  The media outlets alone included The Canadian Jewish News, CTV , The Gazette (Western University’s student newspaper), the London Free Press , the Jerusalem News Site, the Cleveland Jewish News. There were many postings on X (formerly Twitter), Facebook and Instagram.  In addition at least four Jewish organizations, Hillel Ontario, Hillel Western, Western Chabad and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) have all but used a megaphone to spread the news.

London police have commented extensively on the case, promising it will be “thoroughly investigated” by their hate crimes unit.

“Hate has no place in our city. The London Police Service is committed to protecting the safety and well-being of all members of our community and recognizes the significant harm that hate-motivated incidents can cause. Everyone deserves to feel safe and respected in our city,” said London Police Service.

In Halifax, there were brief stories about the sign defacement on the CBC-TV local news, reproduced on Yahoo and on a few instagram accounts.  The National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) condemned the attacks.  That’s about it.  Halifax mayor Andy Fillmore did not make a direct reference but a general statement “Hate has no home in HRM,” and the Halifax police have yet to weigh in.

Despite Mr Yaffa’s appeal– not one politician– not the city councillor, not the MLA for that constituency, nor has the city’s mayor spoken up to denounce the clear case of Islamophobia.  Mr Yaffa asked people of privilege to speak up – and not one did.

Clearly one incident of bigotry is about as serious as the other one.  Yet in the case of the the swastika – the news of an antisemitic ‘attack’, the students’ consternation and the demand for accountability has reached tens of thousands via legacy and social media. Because it’s an antisemitic emblem, the media has boosted the incident many times; the Jewish community further amplifies it.

The case of the rearranging of words on the marquee sign – three times – to denigrate Muslims, has aroused far less attention.  That is because antisemitism is taken far more seriously in our society than Islamophobia.  The ten or more outlets that ran stories and pictures of the swastika included the national press, the police, and the many organizations that support the mainstream Jewish community are further evidence that antisemitism trumps anti-Muslim hate. 

Image at the top: the sign in Halifax: rearranged three times (credit the CBC).