The Jewish news site CJN reported that police confirmed they responded to the Paplas Gate apartment building around midday Thursday, with officers and investigators arriving at the scene.

#BREAKING

Luxury condo on Bayview Avenue vandalized, with an unknown person tearing mezuzahs from around half a dozen doorframes.

Police are investigating.

Dec 25, 2025#Toronto #ProtestMania

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— Caryma Sa'd - Lawyer + Political Satirist (@CarymaRules) December 25, 2025

Three apartments sustained damage, according to Toronto police. Ashley Weiser, a public relations officer with Toronto police, confirmed damage to three units. All were located on the same floor, which police learned was the penthouse level. One resident was traveling abroad when the incident unfolded.

Sources informed police that at least one mezuzah was ripped off and discarded on the ground. Officers were summoned after a caregiver discovered a mezuzah missing from her client's apartment door, sources told police. Toronto police disclosed that the hate crimes unit has also been briefed on the incident.

The apartment tower is home to numerous Jewish residents and sits just over a kilometer north of Beit Tikvah synagogue, which endured multiple antisemitic attacks throughout 2024, including arson.

The case arrived just two and a half weeks after roughly 100 mezuzahs were stripped from doors at a seniors residence in North York. Toronto police labeled the first incident on December 7 at 6250 Bathurst a hate-motivated theft. The two buildings stand approximately six kilometers (3.7 miles) apart. The Bathurst facility operates under Toronto Seniors Housing, a division of Toronto Public Housing.

"This case of vandalized mezuzahs, again, serves as another example of the hatred that has poisoned our city, frequently a consequence of incitement by the mobs in the streets and online vitriol," City Councilor James Pasternak declared in a statement to CJN Thursday evening. The antisemitic mezuzah incident on Bathurst occurred in his district.

"There must be universal condemnation of these acts. And there must be repercussions. The calls in the streets and the atmosphere of lawlessness are dragging Toronto into the abyss," Pasternak added.

Residents of the apartment complex received a notice from the Paplas Gate property management company urging anyone with information or who witnessed anything to step forward, CJN learned. The letter also implies that someone within the complex perpetrated the vandalism.

"In the current climate of the world, this is not considered a random act of destruction, it is considered a targeted antisemitic act," the letter from Paplas Gate property management company stated. "In the 30 years of our residential complex's existence, we have never experienced, not even for a single second, any kind of hatred toward our community residents from people in our community," the company declared.

One resident, who requested anonymity and was not among the victims, spent Sunday fielding phone calls from owners asking whether their units were targeted. The resident has lived in the building for more than 25 years. "A lot of people are very frightened," they told CJN in an interview. "I'm not so much afraid, as angry and troubled that this could have happened. They don't have cameras in the hallways or stairwells, so police are examining fingerprints, doing everything they can," the resident said.

When asked whether they believed the latest incident was a copycat of the far larger antisemitic mezuzah thefts earlier this month at the other building, the resident had previously considered that as well. "Maybe they drew inspiration from that. It was someone who was angry at the Jewish people."

The SV party, the most anti-Israel party in the Norwegian parliament, which demanded that Norway's sovereign wealth fund divest from Israel and conditioned support for any future government on imposing a boycott on Israel, held a controversial candle-lighting ceremony during Hanukkah.

"Today we lit candles to mark Hanukkah – together with Jewish Voices for Just Peace and The Palestinian Committee. This is the essence of solidarity. Standing against injustice, no matter where. Standing together for human dignity, no matter who," the party declared on its social media pages after lighting the candles.

While the Jewish tradition marks Hanukkah as the victory of light over darkness, the renewal of Jewish sovereignty in the Land of Israel, and the freedom of Jewish religion and culture, elements in Norway continue attempting to adopt Jewish narratives and turn them against the majority of the Jewish people who support Zionism and the State of Israel. "The lighting of the candles emphasizes the struggle for the liberation of all people and the fight against antisemitism and racism. Values that recognize no boundaries based on religion or ethnic origin, but which we can and must all unite around. No one is free until everyone is free," the Socialist Left Party explained.

This is not a joke. One of the parties represented in Norway's Parliament, the Socialist Left Party, chose this week to light a public menorah in central Oslo — "for the people of Palestine and the victims there."

A Jewish symbol, tied to the holiday of Chanukah, was… pic.twitter.com/URS7dARV0I

— Daniel Schatz (@drdanielschatz) December 22, 2025

"This is not a joke. One of the parties represented in Norway's Parliament, the Socialist Left Party, chose this week to light a public menorah in central Oslo — 'for the people of Palestine and the victims there,'" wrote Swedish Jewish journalist Daniel Schatz in a post on X. "A Jewish symbol, tied to the holiday of Chanukah, was deliberately appropriated to advance an anti-Israel agenda. This took place the very same week Jews were massacred in Australia. If this is where Norway's political culture stands, then yes — Norway is lost."

The SV party, which won approximately 6% in the last elections, placed the boycott of Israel at the center of its campaign in the most recent elections held in September. It is one of three parties sharply opposed to Israel's policies, but it was the only one that conditioned support for the government on the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund – which manages assets worth approximately $2 trillion – divesting from every Israeli company, and even sought to act against any company maintaining ties with Israel.

In his final moments, Rabbi Eli Schlanger raised his hands, walked toward the gunman as he reloaded his weapon, and pleaded with him to stop shooting. Moments later, he was murdered. His wife, Chaya, was shot in the back. Their two-month-old baby, Shimshy, remains hospitalized with shrapnel injuries.

Surla, a close friend of Chaya, revealed that the condition of two-month-old Shimshy has not yet fully stabilized after shrapnel fragments hit his calf. "He's still not out of danger," she said. "The very horror and malice of someone shooting at babies, women, and elderly people – it's terrifying," she added.

Chaya was also injured in the attack, but in the chaos, she didn't realize she had been hit. "Chaya hid and tried to protect herself and especially her two-month-old baby, and she doesn't remember being hit due to the adrenaline, until suddenly someone standing next to her said: 'You have blood on your back,'" Surla recounted. Their two-month-old son is now recovering at the children's hospital, and Surla praised the "unbelievable" support from the medical staff.

In the horrific events of that day, Chaya was forced to watch her husband, a father of five children, being shot to death. "At the same time, Chaya was hit by a bullet; she also tried to keep her husband alive and begged a local nurse and a surfer who was at the scene to continue performing CPR on him," Surla said.

"We had to evacuate her for medical treatment, but she kept saying: 'Wake up, Eli, you have to wake up.' Eli believed in miracles, and she told him, 'Make us miracles, you can't leave me, I have five children, I can't handle this alone.' It was heartbreaking to watch."

New South Wales Premier Chris Minns admitted last night in an interview with Sky News that only two police officers were present at the Hanukkah celebrations at Bondi Beach before the terror attack that claimed the lives of 15 innocent people. "Police were instructed to be present during the festival," he said. "To my understanding, there were two police officers in the park during the shooting or at its beginning, during the murders, and there were also police in the area, so a patrol car arrived at the scene within moments of the start of the shooting."

Meanwhile, a UN expert called for an "independent investigation" to examine whether Australian authorities could have prevented the horrific massacre. Ben Saul, the UN Special Rapporteur on the protection of human rights in the context of countering terrorism, said any investigation should also examine whether the response of law enforcement authorities "was sufficiently rapid and effective."

This was a nightmare scenario that had been running through the minds of Australia's Jewish community and its security personnel, who noted that this was the "ultimate nightmare" – a scenario they had prepared for out of fear that the day would come when the nightmare would become reality.

For those who managed to watch the footage from the attack, extremely disturbing images show community members who came to light the first Hanukkah candle: Human rights lawyer, Arsen Ostrovsky, covered in blood, recorded himself in a moment of unimaginable fear. Masses of people are seen fleeing for their lives in terror. The similarity between these images and the images of Nova Festival attendees who recorded themselves in moments of sheer terror conveys the same sense of helplessness when live fire is opened on civilians who cannot defend themselves, but the connection between October 7 and the Sydney attack runs even deeper than that.

For two years, we have covered the Australian Jewish community's concerns about the ease with which protests calling for explicit violence against Israelis and against the Jewish community have been allowed to take place. Harsh criticism was directed at Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese over the need to act with a heavy hand against a sharp rise in antisemitic incidents across the country, and against extremists at anti-Israel protests.

The Jewish community adapted itself to the changing reality before its eyes – the appearance of swastikas in the streets, repeated attempts to harm the community – private security was increased at institutions, and some community members even considered the possibility of making Aliyah due to the growing sense of insecurity since the Hamas massacre on October 7, which they felt largely stemmed from Albanese's anti-Israel government. "Our blood is cheap," Sydney Jewish residents told Israel Hayom. Sydney, which in recent years has established its status as a hub for pro-terror protests, has changed its attitude toward the Jews living there, or in simple words, the writing was on the wall.

When signs at mass pro-Palestinian protests call to "gas the Jews," "f*** the Jews," and to "globalize the Intifada," and this is allowed without interference, what prevents two armed men, inspired by October 7, from opening fire on members of that same community during a holiday celebration?

Anti-Israel incitement has snowballed over the past two years, under the guise of "morality," which prevented the warning sounded repeatedly by Israelis, Jews, and their supporters from being heard – Israel's war after October 7 is not Israel's alone. It is a war for the entire world against terror. Jews are not persecuted only in the Middle East, but also in Europe, in North America, and now – in Australia.

Too many times, it took bloodshed to wake leaders from their slumber. All decisions made from here forward will answer the question asked by the Jews from Sydney: Is Jewish blood cheap in 2025?

The case came to light in late January 2024 when the mother tasted cleaning products in the wine she was drinking. The evening before filing a police complaint, minutes after the caregiver left the house, she noticed foam on a bottle of grape juice and smelled bleach in the wine. Police seized cleaning products from the home, including a cleaning spray and a toilet cleaner containing bleach.

The five-year-old daughter told her mother she saw the caregiver transfer soapy liquid into an alcohol bottle labeled "Jerusalem."

Laboratory tests revealed chemical traces in wine stored at the home, in whisky, in grape juice, and even in pasta. According to the indictment, these are "harmful and even corrosive substances that could cause serious injury to the digestive system."

The caregiver, identified as Laila Y., 42, was arrested in early February 2024. She initially denied the allegations, but during a search of her home, she told officers, "Because they have money and power, I should never have worked for a Jew, she only brought me problems."

During interrogation, she confessed to pouring soap into the food as "punishment" and a "warning" following arguments about her wages. "I was angry, they didn't respect me," she said. "I knew this might cause them pain, but not enough to kill them."

Her defense attorney claimed she retracted her confession and denies the antisemitic motive. According to the lawyer, the real motive was jealousy. "What was said relates to a class issue and financial resentment," the attorney argued.

According to the report, searches on the caregiver's phone included inquiries about the family's identity, about "barbaric Jews" and about Jewish religious customs. Her Facebook account contained posts related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The children testified that the caregiver asked them questions about religion, and the younger daughter said she saw her repeatedly strike the mezuzahs in the house.

The family's attorneys view the acts as antisemitic crimes, and Jonathan Arfi, chairman of the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (CRIF), has been invited to testify at the trial. Arfi said the affair "exposes structural violence that must not be downplayed or ignored."

The caregiver, who has been in custody since February 2024, was in France illegally and forged a Belgian identity document to obtain employment.