A family living in Wolseley turned to a national Jewish human rights organization after they were the target of a hate crime New Year’s Eve.
B’nai Brith Canada, which investigates anti-Semitic hate crimes, says it’s working with the Winnipeg Police Service to investigate the incident.
According to B’nai Brith, the family came home New Year’s Eve at 10 p.m. to find a red gift bag on their front steps. The bag contained a rock the size of a loaf of bread. In red, uppercase letters were the words, “DIE JEW” and “EINSATZGRUPPEN.”
The Einsatzgruppen were a Nazi death squad responsible for the mass killings of Jews and other minorities during the Second World War and the Holocaust.
A swastika was also painted on the rock. On a ribbon around the rock was written, “get out of neighberhood.”
Amanda Hohmann, National Director of B’nai Brith’s League for Human Rights, said while incidents like this happen with relative frequency in other parts of the country, it's definitely unusual for Winnipeg.
“Overall numbers of anti-Semitic incidents have dropped dramatically there in recent years, so this has to be quite shocking to the community,” Hohmann said of the Winnipeg incident.
"We will continue to work closely with the family involved, as well as Winnipeg Police, to ensure that this incident is treated with the seriousness that it deserves, and that this does not result in a general increase in anti-Semitism in Winnipeg."
