Leaders of Winnipeg Jewish congregation not surprised by mass bomb threat amid 'climate of hatred'

The leadership of a Jewish congregation in Winnipeg that was among the targets of a mass bomb threat sent to institutions across Canada say the threats are frightening, but not unexpected.

An email sent to roughly 125 Jewish organizations across the country — many of which were synagogues — prompted an RCMP investigation Wednesday.

Winnipeg police told CBC News they received similar reports of a threatening email from multiple Jewish organizations. Each location was searched, but nothing was found.

The emails, which contained violent death threats involving explosives, were received by four synagogues in the city, including Congregation Shaarey Zedek, which currently gathers at Temple Shalom on Grant Avenue as their synagogue is under renovations.

"It was very scary and very explicit about what they planned on doing," executive director Rena Secter Elbaze said.

She said the threat didn't mention any specific building, but anybody who read it would have felt they were the target.

"We evacuated the building. We did a sweep-through. Luckily a lot of the staff wasn't here yet," Elbaze said. "We also talked with a security consultant who told us what we needed to do before coming back."

About six to seven people were in the synagogue before she called police, Elbaze said. People were out of the building until 1 p.m., she said.

Elbaze said the synagogue received the email just after 4 a.m., but she didn't see it until 8:30 a.m. She said the prayer service started an hour earlier, so people were in the building before the synagogue was aware of the threat.

She's not surprised to see something like this happen, she said.

"There's a terrible climate of hatred right now," she said.

"Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, they have had physical threats to their building. There was a fire-bombing, there were stones throwing, there was shooting into windows. So I wasn't surprised."

Congregation Adas Yeshurun Herzlia in Winnipeg received the same threat in its inbox.

"All I can say is that it is a sad day that antisemitism has been left to fester," Rabbi Yosef Benarroch said in an email.

"More needs to be done to curb the wave of antisemitism that is plaguing Canada. In the year 2024 there should be no place for this kind of hate in our country."

Federation taking threats seriously

Jewish Federation of Winnipeg CEO Jeff Lieberman said the organization has been in touch with city police. The national Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs since it became aware of the threats.

Since Oct. 7, "antisemitism rose around the world, certainly in Canada and definitely in Winnipeg," said Lieberman, referencing the Hamas attack on Israel that led to the country's invasion of Gaza.  

Wednesday morning, Indian media outlets reported that an email with seemingly identical wording had been sent to "at least 100" hospitals, companies and government institutions in New Delhi.

Police services in other parts of Canada, including in Toronto, Ottawa and Calgary, said Jewish institutions in those cities received similar threats, but no explosives were found in any of those cities.

Lieberman said the federation is telling the affected synagogues in Winnipeg to tighten security. No break-ins have been reported, he said.

Elbaze said her synagogue has had video cameras and a security protocol for a while, but safety measures have increased since Oct. 7. Security personnel now attend every prayer service.

She said the threats will likely frighten some people in Shaarey Zedek's congregation, but she hopes the synagogue can temper their concerns. 

"We want people to feel they can come and they can celebrate events and celebrate life," Elbaze said. 

"We don't want to stop doing what we do. The purpose of this whole thing was a campaign to create fear and disruption. So we're not going to give in to it."