Halifax police lay charges for hateful graffiti painted on synagogues | Unpublished
Hello!

Unpublished Newswire

Source Feed: National Post
Author: Chris Lambie
Publication Date: September 17, 2025 - 10:43

Halifax police lay charges for hateful graffiti painted on synagogues

September 17, 2025

Halifax Regional Police have charged a 31-year-old man with public incitement of hatred after an investigation into six antisemitic graffiti messages painted last weekend on three Jewish sites.

They arrested Gezim Topalli Tuesday at his Halifax home. He’s slated to appear in Halifax provincial court Wednesday on three counts of mischief related to religious property, three counts of property damage and public incitement of hatred.

Topalli allegedly sprayed a swastika on the Shaar Shalom synagogue, on Oxford Street, overnight last Saturday. He also allegedly painted graffiti on the Beth Israel synagogue, a few blocks away. A nearby building associated with the Chabad-Lubavitch of the Maritimes Rohr Family Institute was also defaced

A nearby building associated with the Chabad-Lubavitch of the Maritimes Rohr Family Institute was also defaced with the words “Jews did 9/11.”

The incidents happened after days of protests in the city against Israeli participation in the Davis Cup tennis tournament.

“I am pleased with the outcome of this investigation. While I credit the quick and thorough work of HRP’s hate crime investigator, I also want to thank the public who came forward to help identify the suspect,” HRP Chief Don MacLean said in a written statement. “The swift and seamless collaboration between police and the community represents our city taking a strong and unified stance against the promotion of hatred.”

Police urge “anyone exposed to behaviour that is offensive, threatening or intimidating” to call them at 902-490-5020, said a news release.

“Even if the investigation does not find criminal wrongdoing, it is important to have it on record.”

Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.

Comments

Be the first to comment

Unpublished Newswire

 
When Montreal Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki gave his first interview in French this preseason, after six years with the club, it lasted barely a minute. His answers were short, stilted and clearly rehearsed. Still, his performance was hailed as a breakthrough in the francophone media and cheered even by language stickler and Parti Québécois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.The grace afforded Suzuki for his belated attempt to communicate with fans in their language was a sign of the almost delirious optimism and goodwill surrounding this Canadiens team. No Habs season in 30 years has been...
October 8, 2025 - 05:00 | Eric Andrew-Gee | The Globe and Mail
Canada has been working for years to be ready for an initiative like the U.S.-led Golden Dome defence system, says the Royal Canadian Air Force’s top commander in NORAD, who argues that the two countries have little choice but to work together in the face of a shared, escalating threat from polar attacks.The commander, Major General J.D. Smyth, told The Globe and Mail that the Air Force has been preparing for the Golden Dome as part of its work to shore up Canada’s military presence in the Arctic and modernize North American air defences.
October 8, 2025 - 04:15 | Gavin John | The Globe and Mail
Tuesday’s fraud convictions of a former senior hospital executive and a former Toronto construction boss were the culmination of a four-year police investigation and 24 days of court testimony. But for The Globe and Mail, the St. Michael’s Hospital procurement scandal began more than a decade ago with the delivery of four brown envelopes. In June, 2015, four Globe journalists received identical letters in their mail slots urging reporters to ask questions about a recent decision by St. Michael’s and Infrastructure Ontario to award a $300-million contract to Bondfield Construction Co. Ltd...
October 8, 2025 - 04:05 | Greg McArthur | The Globe and Mail
more