Lara Rae’s daily walk along Wellington Crescent took a shocking turn this week, when the Winnipeg woman discovered anti-Semitic graffiti scrawled across sidewalks and public property.
“Right at the beginning of Omand’s Creek all the way along Wellington Crescent, so that’s a couple of miles,” Rae said.
“Now all the way up here to Granite (Way).”
The messages included references to “lost white civilization” and “Soros extinct whites”.
According to Jewish organization B’nai Brith, the graffiti links the concept of white genocide to Jewish-American philanthropist George Soros.
In a statement the organization wrote: “the concerns we have around this is for all of the obvious reasons, in which Jews are portrayed as malevolent societal forces that seek to harm humanity. These types of racist ideologies are very dangerous, and manifest in a variety of ways."
Just as distressing for Rae was the timing of the graffiti.
As someone who regularly frequents the area, she said she felt it was no coincidence the messages appeared after a deadly weekend riot in Charlottesville, Virginia where white supremacists and counter-protesters clashed in the streets.
"I think they are emboldened. They feel they can do this with impunity and not suffer any consequences," Rae said.
"Fortunately, I don't think that's true. But this event brings out the worst in people who have these kind of sentiments."
As associate professor in the psychology department at the University of Manitoba, Katherine Starzyk has looked at how group mentality can affect the actions of an individual.
She said watching events like the riot in Charlottesville unfold, could stir up hate here in Canada.
"People look to what other people are doing to understand whether or not their own behaviours are appropriate," Starzyk said.
"And when they see a large group of people engaging in that kind of hateful behaviour, they come to feel that it's more ok to them."
Starzyk said if members of society hope to slow or stop such acts they have to speak out against them, as people naturally value what their friends, families and peers think.
“If they feel that people will stand up against these things then they themselves will think about whether these thoughts, behaviours and actions are appropriate.”
Winnipeg Jewish Federation President Adam Levene said while he was shocked to hear about the graffiti, it was a stark reminder that anti-Semitism still exists and that marginalized groups of any kind cannot become complacent.
Levene hoped the incident could serve as an opportunity to teach people about the destructive nature of hate speech.
“Saying this is hurtful and this wrong, and it’s not appropriate," Levene said.
"It gives us the chance to educate people and to say this cannot continue."
Mayor Brian Bowman released a statement Wednesday afternoon expressing his support for the Winnipeg Jewish Federation, and denouncing acts of hate.
