TORONTO — Someone set several Israeli flags on fire outside a North York church before dawn Wednesday, and Toronto police are investigating it as a suspected hate crime.Officers were called at about 1:30 a.m. to Sunrise Ave. and O’Connor Dr., outside Word of Faith International Christian Centre at 65 Sunrise Ave. Toronto Fire put out the outdoor fire, and said that no one was hurt. Police have not yet identified a suspect.Police confirmed the file is with the Hate Crime Unit. Const. Jamie Loomans told CBC News the force already had extra officers out across the city for the Oct. 7 anniversary, and that the presence will continue. The date is the third anniversary of the Hamas-led attack on Israel that killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostage.The fire is the latest case on a file Toronto police already have open. In late July, the hate crime unit and the guns and gangs unit investigated damage at two locations of Kiva’s Bakery, a Jewish-owned chain. Windows were broken at a shop near Bathurst St. and Steeles Ave. W. while shots were fired into a second shop near Yonge St. and St. Clair Ave. W. It also follows a confirmed hate-motivated attack outside a synagogue in late September. On the evening of Yom Kippur, 29-year-old Sean Ward of Quinte West opened fire outside the Sons of Jacob synagogue in Belleville. Belleville police said he targeted the Jewish community, shooting Const. Jeff Smith, who was posted outside. .Officer shot outside Belleville synagogue on Yom Kippur.Gunfire hits two Jewish-owned bakeries in Toronto.Coun. Brad Bradford, who is running for mayor, posted on X that the fire was not a protest. “It was an act of intimidation, aimed at the Jewish community and it seems, Christian residents right here in Toronto and at a place of worship,” he wrote. He said fire and hate on a residential street before dawn are meant to frighten people, thanked Toronto Fire and police, and asked anyone with video from Sunrise Ave. and O’Connor Dr. to call investigators. “Hate directed at any community is a threat to every community, and the people responsible for this need to be found and charged.”Olivia Chow has not commented on the fire at the time of this publication.
