A string of events in Ottawa linked to antisemitism is creating alarm among Jewish people in the capital city, with a community leader saying the Israel-Hamas war is exposing hatred that has existed for years.
An Ottawa woman is facing charges after gasoline was poured in the clinical area of the General Campus of The Ottawa Hospital last week, with messages left nearby that police described as related to the conflict.
Another man is facing charges for what police are calling hate-motivated offences after an Ottawa rabbi received a threatening phone call.
And a man was charged with assault and criminal harassment in connection to an altercation at an Ottawa gas station that police say involved making antisemitic statements.
Sarah Beutel, the interim CEO of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa, says these incidents are disturbing but people are not letting the anxiety get in the way of their daily lives.
Beutel says hate toward the Jewish community in Canada has been building for years and is being accelerated by the Israel-Hamas conflict.