National Holocaust Monument vandalism investigated as potential hate crime [Video]

The defacement of the National Holocaust Monument in Ottawa overnight Sunday is now being investigated as a potential hate crime.

In a statement, the Ottawa Police Service said the hate and bias crime unit “is actively leading the investigation,” after the monument, located close to Parliament Hill at 1918 Chaudière Crossing, was defaced with red paint, including lettering appearing to spell out “feed me.”

“The desecration of Canada’s Holocaust Memorial was fuelled by a climate where incendiary rhetoric and false narratives about Israel are increasingly used to target Jews in Canada and around the world,” says interim president Noah Shack at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.

“All levels of government across party lines spoke out against this hate crime and rallied around the principle that deliberately targeting victims of the Holocaust is not an act of protest. What’s urgently needed is for our leaders to tackle the sources of hate driving …