Calgary police investigating anti-Israel graffiti spray-painted on road dividers near zoo as hate-related incident

Anti-Israel graffiti spray-painted on road dividers near Calgary Zoo was discovered Monday afternoon.

A Calgary Jewish organization issued a response Wednesday to anti-Israel graffiti sprayed on a series of road dividers near the Wilder institute/Calgary Zoo.

The graffiti was spotted Monday afternoon on the north side of the zoo at the intersection of Zoo Road and Memorial Drive N.E.

A number of panels have been sprayed. One said, “Death to Israel, Death to Canada and Death to the USA.” A second said, “Resistance” and a third said, “No to genocide.”

A fourth said, “We are all Samidoun.”

“Samidoun” is the Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, which describes itself as “an international network of organizers and activists working to build solidarity with Palestinian prisoners in their struggle for freedom.”

On Oct. 15, the Government of Canada announced that it has listed Samidoun as a terrorist entity under the Criminal Code.

Calgary Jewish Federation statement

Lisa Libin issued the following statement on behalf of the Calgary Jewish Federation Wednesday afternoon.

"We are deeply disturbed by the graffiti found in Calgary that features the red triangle symbol associated with propaganda from the listed terror entity Hamas,” it said.. “This hateful message goes beyond an attack on Israel alone; it is a direct threat to Canada and our collective shared values.

“The appearance of this violent rhetoric on our streets is a chilling reminder that anti-Semitism and hatred, in all their forms, continue to pose a real threat to our safety and society and rooted in hate and violent extremism.

“This incident underscores the urgent need to strengthen Canada’s hate crime laws to ensure that threats like these are treated with the gravity they deserve."

Hate-motivated incident

In a statement sent to CTV News, the Calgary police said they were notified at noon Monday about the graffiti and have deemed it a hate-motivated incident.

"The investigation is ongoing and we ask anyone who may have witnessed the vandalism or may have dash-cam footage to contact police.

"Hate-motivated crimes are recognizable crimes, like assault, theft, vandalism or any other crime, where the offender was motivated by bias, prejudice or hate that is based on one of nine personal characteristics of the victim."

For more information on how and why to report hate-related incidents, go to reporthate.ca.

To contact police, call 403-266-1234. Those wishing to remain anonymous can contact Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477, online or by downloading the P3 Tips app.