By Barry Ellsworth
TRENTON, Canada (AA) – Emails containing bomb threats were received by more than 100 synagogues and Jewish organizations across Canada Wednesday.
The targets reportedly included hospitals, synagogues and Jewish centers in the highly-populated cities of Toronto, Montreal and Ottawa, the nation’s capital.
Ottawa police were stationed at several hospitals but the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) is heading up the investigation, the Ottawa force told CBC News. The RCMP is also conducting a Canada-wide investigation.
The Jewish organization B’nai Brith said emails were received Wednesday morning threatening explosions at their offices in Montreal and Toronto. Montreal police investigated and examined the offices.
“The team did not detect any immediate threats,” Montreal police Constable Sabrina Gauthier told CBC News.
In Ottawa, an email was received by the Queensway Carleton Hospital and a detailed search was carried out but nothing was found, a police spokesperson said.
Toronto police also found no explosive devices as a result of building searches.
“We are aware of threats made via email to Jewish organizations across Canada,” Toronto Police Service (TPS) posted on X. “Today, TPS attended buildings…for a bomb threat. The buildings were evacuated as a precaution and cleared.”
A spokesperson for the Jewish advocacy organization Federation CJA said the intent of the emails is to instill fear in Canadian Jewish communities.
"They want to scare in a way that is quite emotional, quite visual.…By referencing disgusting things, the goal is to intimidate so that the Jewish community does not feel safe where it is supposed to feel safe,” the CJA’s Julien Corona said in an interview with CBC News. “It's unacceptable and it is also proof of the rising antisemitism in our country.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau also expressed his outrage Wednesday on reports that over 100 Jewish institutions across Canada received emails with bomb threat.
"I’m disgusted at reports that more than 100 Jewish institutions across Canada were targeted by threats today. This is blatant antisemitism," Trudeau wrote on X.