WINNIPEG -- A Jewish high school student in Winnipeg was physically assaulted in February 2020 by several peers and was told to “go back to the ovens” according to a new audit.

B’nai Brith Canada, a Jewish service organization, released their 2020 Annual Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents on Monday. The report states, on average, more than seven acts of anti-Semitism were committed each day in Canada last year.

The attack on the Winnipeg teenager was one of several incidents highlighted in the audit. Other reported incidents in Winnipeg included a swastika spray-painted on a synagogue’s recycling bin and broken windows at a Jewish cemetery.

The audit reports there were 2,610 anti-Semitic incidents reported in 2020, an 18.3 per cent increase from the 2,207 reported in 2019. B’nai Brith categorizes anti-Semitic incidents under three types: harassment, vandalism, and violence.

While violent incidents decreased in 2020—a figure B’nai Brith suggests could be related to public health orders—the audit revealed four out of the nine physical attacks reported were COVID-19 related. In Boisbriand, QC, members of the Hasidic community were targeted after misinformation was spread they were not following COVID-19 guidelines.

"As Canadians spent much of 2020 under pandemic restrictions and lockdown, anti-Semitism did not take the year off," B’nai Brith Canada’s CEO Michael Mostyn said in a release.

Harassment accounted for 95 per cent of total incidents with the majority occurring online. The audit said it is unsurprising the most common place for anti-Semitic harassment was through social media platforms and other online forums.

David Matas, who is a senior honorary counsel for B'nai Brith Canada, said people spent more time at home in 2020.

"They're spending more time on the Internet. They're more used to the Internet. The Internet is now pretty much pervasive and it's unregulated," said Matas.

He added what this report shows is the persistence of anti-Semitism.

"(It shows) Its ability to adapt to new circumstances, new technology, new vocabulary. I think it's a warning to the need to get in appropriate legislation and appropriate response to combat anti-Semitism."

In reaction to the audit’s findings, Mostyn said the organization’s Eight-Point Plan to Tackle Anti-Semitism remains “as relevant as ever, especially its prescient call for government action to combat online hatred.”

The full audit can be found on B’nai Brith Canada’s website.