Toronto police
Toronto policeiStock

Police in Toronto and in York Region, in the suburbs of the city, are investigating two incidents of graffiti, vandalism, and a break-in against La Briut, a kosher restaurant and caterer.

In the first incident, early Friday morning at around 3:00 a.m., La Briut’s office in Markham, north of Toronto, was broken into, robbed and vandalized with antisemitic graffiti. Hateful messages including “Fuc [sic] Jews” and “Free Gaza” were spray-painted on the interior walls of the business.

York Regional Police, which is investigating the incident, said in a news release, “The suspects vandalized the property causing significant damage, and left antisemitic graffiti on the property.”

Images released by police show two masked individuals captured in black-and-white photos using spray paint inside the building.

In the second incident, La Briut’s restaurant at Dufferin Street and Steeles Avenue West in northern Toronto was also broken into, with its front door shattered and property stolen.

The Toronto Police Service is investigating this incident.

Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) said it was deeply alarmed by the two incidents.

“This latest appalling attack on a Jewish-owned business is a stark reminder of the persistent and troubling rise in antisemitism in our society,” said Senior Director of Policy and Advocacy Jaime Kirzner-Roberts.

“It’s deeply disheartening that, in 2025, members of the Jewish community still face such vile and targeted hate crimes. No one should have to live in fear for their safety or endure harassment and intimidation because of their faith or identity. We must come together as a society to reject this kind of hatred and ensure that those who perpetrate these despicable acts are held accountable.”

UJA Federation of Greater Toronto said that it “is deeply outraged and saddened by the recent antisemitic attacks on La Briut, a kosher restaurant and caterer.”

“As a community, we stand united against hate and will not be deterred by those who seek to instill fear,” it added.

Jewish Conservative Member of Parliament Melissa Lantsman, who represents the district of Thornhill, in the suburbs of Toronto, shared photos of the vandalism on Instagram and wrote, “The radical mobs will tell you this is about Gaza and not Jews.”

“Another day in Toronto where a kosher business is targeted by the lawlessness that has been allowed to fester in the streets because of the divisiveness of governments and their dithering leadership on Jew hatred,” she added.

“The PM might have (sort of) resigned last week but doing nothing to stop this for more than 15 months will be his enduring legacy.”

These two incidents are the latest in a series of antisemitic incidents in Toronto, which has seen a surge in such incidents since October 7, 2023.

Last month, shots were fired at Bais Chaya Mushka Elementary School Jewish girls' school in the North York district of Toronto, marking the third such incident at the institution in seven months.

In November, a Jewish woman was assaulted as she picked her child up from a Chabad-Lubavitch daycare in central Toronto

In July, two synagogues in Toronto were attacked on the same day by vandals who threw rocks through the synagogues' windows.

The first incident occurred at the Pride of Israel Synagogue, where congregants were shocked to discover several windows shattered, holes in their stained glass and stones scattered onto the bimah.

In the second incident, a vandal threw a rock through the window of the Kehillat Shaarei Torah Synagogue. This synagogue had been targeted in similar attacks twice before that.

In January of 2024, a Jewish-owned grocery store in Toronto was spray-painted with the words “Free Palestine” and later set on fire.