A 97-year-old Holocaust survivor is calling on Toronto's Jewish community to stand firm and fight back against hatred, following a second brazen attack in December where sacred mezuzahs were ripped from the doorways of elderly residents.
Christmas Day Attack Targets Seniors' Residence
For the second time this month, a Toronto condominium complex with a significant Jewish population was targeted in what police are investigating as a hate-motivated crime. On December 25, 2025, an unknown individual tore mezuzahs from at least six penthouse unit doorways at a building near Bayview and Finch Avenues in North York. The small religious scrolls, containing verses from the Torah, were found discarded on the ground.
This incident mirrors a similar attack earlier in December, where approximately 100 mezuzahs were removed from doorways at 6250 Bathurst Street. Both buildings are home to many Jewish seniors, including survivors of the Holocaust. The location of the Christmas Day incident is notably just down the road from Beth Tikvah Synagogue, a site that has been repeatedly targeted by antisemitic vandalism and arson in the past.
"Don't Hide Your Symbols": A Survivor's Message
Nate Leipciger, a resident of the Bayview Avenue complex who survived the Auschwitz concentration camp, spoke forcefully to the Toronto Sun in the attack's aftermath. His primary concern is not for his own safety, but for the impact of such hatred on younger generations of Jews.
"That bothers me more than anything else, more than even my personal security, is the fact that my great-grandchildren are exposed to hatred and feel there's something wrong with them, maybe they should hide their Jewishness," Leipciger said. "Don't hide your symbols — stand up to whoever it is, because they want you to cower and hide your identity, because that's what they need."
Leipciger, who was born in Poland in 1928 and lost his mother and sister in Auschwitz, drew a chilling parallel between current events and the rise of Nazism. He recalled asking his father in the camps why such horrors were happening to them, a question he now hears from vulnerable Jewish youth in Toronto today.
A Pattern of Escalating Hate in Toronto
Community leaders and advocates point to these incidents as symptoms of a dramatically worsened climate for Jewish Torontonians since the October 7, 2023 attacks in Israel. They cite a relentless series of demonstrations, anti-Israel rallies, and marches—some of which have proceeded through Jewish neighbourhoods—that they believe have emboldened individuals to commit acts of vandalism, assault, and intimidation.
Josh Landau of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) issued a statement condemning the attacks and calling for action. "For the second time in a month, seniors and Holocaust survivors in Toronto were the victims of another brazen antisemitic act," Landau said. "Law enforcement and governments at all levels must act with urgency to protect Canadians and ensure accountability for offenders."
Toronto Police continue to investigate both mezuzah incidents. Nate Leipciger's final advice, born of unimaginable personal experience, is a direct challenge to the fear these acts are meant to instill: "Stand up and fight."
