Canada’s Jews shouldn’t need a fundraising campaign to pray safely - comment
Const. Jeff Smith's presence is the main reason 25 people walked out of Kol Nidre unharmed. Ottawa and Queen's Park still write their security programs as though they were a temporary embarrassment.
Const. Jeff Smith of the Belleville Police Service was on patrol outside Sons of Jacob Synagogue on a Sunday evening when he received an unexpected visitor - a man armed with a shotgun. About 25 people were present inside to celebrate Kol Nidre, the opening ritual of Yom Kippur, but the synagogue's president, Norm Weddum, reported that they had never received a threat beforehand.
The small Jewish community in Belleville, a city of approximately 55,000 people located about 110 miles east of Toronto, had no reason to expect an armed presence. Nonetheless, someone within the local police department decided that an armed officer should be stationed outside the synagogue on this particular night. Ontario Premier Doug Ford praised Const.
Smith, calling him a hero who prevented a tragedy, and it left me wondering who was responsible for deploying Smith to this location.
Written by urgent.news from Jerusalem Post's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
Also reported by 1 other outlet
- Hundreds of Jews pray on Temple Mount on Yom Kippur israelnationalnews.com
