B.C. man sentenced for ‘hateful’ messages written on Victoria historic synagogue
A British Columbia man named Arthur Roberts has been sentenced to eight months in jail for defacing a historic synagogue in Victoria with hateful messages. The synagogue, founded in 1859, is recognized as the oldest continually operating synagogue on the west coast of North America. In August 2025, a congregation member discovered graffiti depicting Jews as "evil" and "monsters" outside the synagogue's vestibule.
Roberts admitted to the desecration, expressing that he intended to expose Jews to a hateful message upon entering the place of worship. He also pleaded guilty to uttering threats, after allegedly sending a text message to his mother in June 2026 expressing a desire to kill police. Judge Micah Rankin found Roberts to be an "extremely isolated" 54-year-old man with mental health issues, expressing remorse for his actions.
The judge noted that while criticizing the State of Israel may be permissible, attributing responsibility to all Jews for the actions of Israel constitutes antisemitic hate speech.
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