Oak Bay Mayor Kevin Murdoch knows he walks a fine line between calling out bad behaviour and amplifying hateful messages.

Hearing disturbing reports of online targeting of Jewish-owned businesses in Oak Bay and Greater Victoria, he含羞草研究社檚 choosing to speak out.

含羞草研究社淭his is something that 含羞草研究社� when it含羞草研究社檚 not called out when you see it 含羞草研究社� it emboldens people含羞草研究社檚 bad behaviour,含羞草研究社� Murdoch told the Oak Bay News. 含羞草研究社淭he silence is where the danger is.含羞草研究社�

He含羞草研究社檚 heard of multiple instances of antisemitic messaging in Greater Victoria and knows at least one Jewish-owned business is facing hate email and targeted negative online reviews.

含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 not large amounts but I just think we含羞草研究社檙e better than this,含羞草研究社� Murdoch said. 含羞草研究社淚 need to say something, I think being silent is dangerous.含羞草研究社�

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So he spoke up 含羞草研究社� quite publicly.

含羞草研究社淚 find it very sad how prevalent hate continues to be in our society; old prejudices always seem to crop up in times of conflict 含羞草研究社� and can grow when leaders give room for that division. It is a tool of authoritarian regimes the world over. We must all speak up early and loudly to reject such behaviour. There is no place for bigotry in Oak Bay, the CRD, or Canada,含羞草研究社� he said on social media.

Business owners are also torn, he said, between illuminating the issue and drawing attention to their family or business and risk becoming a target.

含羞草研究社淚 can say something,含羞草研究社� Murdoch said. 含羞草研究社淚t含羞草研究社檚 incumbent on the majority to stand up and say we won含羞草研究社檛 accept that. I do believe our society is much better than that.含羞草研究社�

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Despite representing less than one per cent of the Canadian population, Jews are the religious group in Canada most likely to be targeted for hate crimes, according to Statistics Canada.

The number of police-reported hate crimes targeting a given religion rose from 530 in 2020 to 884 in 2021, representing a 67-per-cent increase, StatsCan data show. It marked the highest number of hate crimes targeting a religion since comparable data have been recorded and followed three consecutive years of decreases. Police-reported hate crimes targeting the Jewish (up 47 per cent), Muslim (up 71 per cent) and Catholic (up 260 per cent) religions were up in 2021 compared with the previous year.

Murdoch is confident a small group holds the level of anger and hatred he含羞草研究社檚 talking about. He含羞草研究社檚 also adamant no minority group should feel unsafe or unwelcome 含羞草研究社渘o matter where they were born.含羞草研究社�

With International Holocaust Remembrance Day approaching on Jan. 27, 2024, he calls on the wider community to live by the motto best associated with Second World War genocide 含羞草研究社� 含羞草研究社渘ever again.含羞草研究社�