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Toronto city councillor says he's disgusted by antisemitic graffiti that calls for the death of Jews
Toronto City Councillor Brad Bradford says he’s disgusted by antisemitic graffiti calling for the death of Jews in the city’s west end.
Bradford, a councillor for Beaches-East York, said that Toronto’s Jewish community has been “subjected to a shocking increase in antisemitism,” in an emailed statement to National Post.
“Jewish restaurants have been firebombed, Jewish girls schools have been shot at, and Jewish neighbourhoods have been targeted by hateful protests. Hateful graffiti litters our streets, parks and sidewalks. It’s disgusting, it’s abhorrent, and it needs to stop,” he said.
Toronto resident Christine Van Geyn posted a video on X on Monday showing the graffiti, which said: “Kill Jews for peace.” It was scrawled in black under a bridge at Royal York Rd. and Dundas St. W.
Bradford shared the post and said that “we are far too used to seeing disgusting antisemitic graffiti like this” in Toronto.
“Leadership is about denouncing it clearly and consistently, and taking action to put an end to it,” he added.
In Toronto, we are far too used to seeing disgusting antisemitic graffiti like this. Leadership is about denouncing it clearly and consistently, and taking action to put an end to it. https://t.co/3ARDlUV97S
— Brad Bradford (@BradMBradford) January 20, 2026
Van Geyn told National Post that she shared the video because it was in her neighbourhood and she believes “people need to understand what the Jewish community is increasingly living with.”
“This is not the first time this bridge was vandalized. On November 12, I reported vandalism in the same spot that said ‘save a child, kill a Rabbi,'” she said.
“Antisemitism has risen dramatically, and it is no longer abstract or theoretical — it is showing up in public spaces, near homes, schools, and places people pass every day. This bridge is right between two elementary schools. The messages on the bridge are especially disturbing because they are calls to violence against Jews as Jews.”
B’nai Brith Canada, an organization dedicated to combatting antisemitism, keeps track of incidents across the country for an annual audit. Last week alone, it said there had been 32 antisemitic incidents reported . It included the harassment of a Jewish couple in Toronto, and swastikas spray-painted on the windows and walls of a synagogue in Winnipeg.
Van Geyn said she has been shocked by what she’s seen over the past two and a half years. “What might once have seemed unthinkable is now being written openly on bridges and walls,” she said. Although she is not Jewish, her husband is and so are her step-children.
“That has made this issue very personal for me. I am worried about my family, and I am worried about the broader Jewish community. Our neighbourhood does not have a large Jewish population. Our home is one of few that can be identified as a Jewish home because we keep a mezuzah on our door,” she said.
“We are once again discussing as a family if this puts us at risk.”
She said the protesters who say they are rallying against Israel deem their activism as anti-Zionism, rather than antisemitism. “But when you see repeated messages calling for violence against Jews and Jewish religious figures, it becomes impossible to credibly argue that this is about foreign policy or criticism of Israel,” she said.
Van Geyn called 311 after she saw the graffiti. She was told that it was classified as high priority and that it would be removed.
Bradford said that it’s up to leaders to stand up and “clearly to denounce hatred, each time it happens.” He said he would continue to be a “loud voice to ensure that every Torontonian feels safe and welcome in our city.”
Toronto police spokesperson Stephanie Sayer told National Post in a statement that since November 2023 there has been an online form that can be filled out to report hate-motivated graffiti.
“Since then, a total of 1,074 hate-motivated graffiti calls were generated through this web form. It is monitored 24/7 for officers to be dispatched to investigate,” she said.
“Since October 7, we have made 300 arrests and laid 805 charges in relation to hate crimes. Police play a critical role in responding to hate-motivated crime and threats, and we act when conduct crosses the criminal threshold.”
However, she added that “not all hateful or offensive speech is criminal under Canadian law.”
“Some behaviour may be deeply upsetting or harmful without meeting the legal standard for police enforcement,” she said. “Addressing antisemitism in all its forms requires a broader response that includes education, community leadership, and action from governments.”
Van Geyn pointed out that the words graffitied under the bridge are not a “political critique.”
“It is a call for violence against a people,” she said.
“I posted the video because we need to be honest about what this is and call it out clearly. If we allow explicit threats against Jews to be reframed as legitimate political expression, we normalize something that should never be normalized: antisemitism.”
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