An 87-year-old man of Jewish descent is headbutted on Commercial Drive for taking issue with a man waving a Palestinian flag.
Two women walking away from a pro-Israel rally are accosted by two teenage boys who threaten to rape the females and slice their faces.
Graffiti is sprayed on a community centre that says all Muslims should die.
These were some of the hate-motivated incidents highlighted Tuesday by Staff Sgt. Astrid Bonter of the Vancouver Police Department as she released information on the number of hate crime incidents and protests that occurred in the city in 2023.
“Whether it be a hateful gesture, anti-Islamic or anti-Muslim commentary, a swastika written on a sidewalk window or wall, an assault, a threat or an act of intimidation, this behaviour cannot be normalized and will not be tolerated in this city,” said Bonter, who works in the VPD’s diversity, community and Indigenous relations section.
Reporters heard at a news conference at the VPD’s Cambie Street precinct that the Israel-Hamas war is the single biggest reason why hate crime incidents and protests increased in Vancouver last year.
In total, police have investigated 50 criminal offences connected to the Israel-Hamas war, including assaults against police officers and cases of obstructing police. Suspects have been identified in 26 of the 50 incidents.
To date, VPD has recommended criminal charges in 17 cases, resulting in nine people being charged in connection with 11 different incidents. That includes people charged in the incidents involving the 87-year-old man on Commercial Drive and the two women accosted by teenagers after a pro-Israel rally.
Six cases are currently being reviewed by Crown counsel.
Last year, police investigated 265 hate crime reports across all communities, a 31 per cent increase from 2022. Police also saw an increase in reports from the South Asian and 2SLGBTQ+ communities.
The Jewish community alone reported 47 incidents to police, an increase of 18 over 2022.
'Suffering seen and heard'
Bonter pointed out 33 of the hate-motivated incidents against Jewish people occurred after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
“While I cannot begin to speak on behalf of the communities embroiled in this conflict, I can say that without question, their suffering is seen and heard,” said Bonter, who didn’t provide specific data on number of hate-motivated incidents targeting Muslims and West Asians, but noted they were lower in numbers to the Jewish community.
(Glacier Media later learned from the department that four hate-motivated incidents were reported in 2023 that involved the Muslim community. Two were reported in 2022.)
Bonter qualified her statement in emphasizing that hate crimes are typically under-reported to police, and that may be the case for the Muslim and West Asian communities. She urged all people targeted in a hate crime to contact police.
“If you have been targeted due to your race, religion, national or ethnic background, gender identity, sex or sexual orientation, we want to hear from you,” she said.
“Cases are solved when someone calls police to report a crime. And I want to take this opportunity to tell people that we want to hear from you.”
Other incidents highlighted by Bonter included a man who repeatedly returned to a Jewish school and made anti-Semitic comments and gestures including a “Heil Hitler salute” toward many people, including a rabbi.
A man was arrested and charged with criminal harassment.
Police continue to investigate a report of graffiti on public washroom doors saying, “I’m going to burn every Palestinian alive.” Another incident reported to police involved human excrement rubbed on a vehicle bumper bearing a free Palestine sticker.
Protests reach 1,018
Meanwhile, protests reached 1,018 in 2023, resulting in a 27 per cent increase in officers being deployed and more than $4 million in overtime costs. Many protests were tied to the environment.
Eighty of the protests occurred after Oct. 7 and generated 1,800 police overtime shifts at a cost of $2.5 million.
Sunday marked 100 days since the Hamas attack on Israel, a moment in history that Bonter said “will not be forgotten by the many communities directly and indirectly impacted by the violence of that day.”
“We continue to engage in significant outreach with community groups and faith groups, including members of our Jewish and Muslim communities and others who have felt the impacts of the events in the Middle East,” she said.
“As in other cities, one of the biggest challenges we continue to face as a result of the Israel-Hamas war is the number and frequency of protests, as well as the unprecedented volatility connected to some of these protests.”
