Toronto (February 27, 2024) – Friends of Simon Wiesenthal  Center (FSWC) is pleased that an arrest has been made after a statue in  Toronto's Kensington Market of the late Al Waxman, a Jewish Canadian actor and director, was vandalized with pro-Hamas graffiti.

The statue was reported  vandalized with the words "Vote for Hamas" over the weekend. FSWC was in touch with both the Toronto Police Service (TPS) Hate Crime Unit and Mayor Olivia Chow to ensure the graffiti was covered and removed by city staff.

According to TPS, police responded to multiple reports of mischief in the downtown core between February 20-26. A 41-year-old man has been charged with five counts of mischief, with the vandalism of the Al Waxman statue being  treated as a suspected hate-motivated offence. 

"Vandalizing the statue of a local Jewish icon to glorify a terror group is an utterly reprehensible act of antisemitism," said FSWC President and CEO Michael Levitt. "There must be no room for such hatred and promotion of terror in this city. We appreciate the prompt and resolute investigation by Toronto police that has led to an arrest and charges  laid."