Victoria has promised a crackdown on hatecrimes and plans to grant police the power to veto protests following designated terror attacks in a move that will move similar legislation rapidly introduced in New South Wales.
Jewish HateCrimesHatecrimes against Jews have risen substantially since the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack by Hamas on Israel, causing war to break out in Gaza.
In addition to facing mischief charges for damage to a religious site and interfering with property, police noted that the HateCrime Unit may apply for permission from Canada's attorney general to pursue hatecrime charges at a later date.
The anniversary of the attack that ignited the ongoing Israel–Hamas conflict could be a “motivating factor” for extremists to commit hatecrimes and threaten public safety.
Officers from the Eastern Beaches Police Area Command established a crime scene and launched Strike Force Pearl to investigate the suspicious fire and hate-related vandalism.
On Friday, the DOJ indicted 34-year-old Dallas Humber of Elk Grove, California, and 37-year-old Matthew Allison, of Boise, Idaho, for hatecrime and murder solicitation and conspiring to support terrorists.
The NSW government is weighing changes to hatecrime laws after videos emerged allegedly showing ISIS-inspired attacks on gay and bisexual teenagers in Sydney.
Soliman, a 45-year-old citizen of Egypt, was charged with a federal hatecrime following the June 1 incendiary attack at a gathering to express solidarity with those taken hostage from Israel by the terrorist group Hamas.
The Minns government will allocate $525,000 for the NSW Police Force’s Engagement and HateCrime Unit, and $500,000 to train local authorities in combating hatecrimes.
The incident is considered arson, but TPS said the HateCrime Unit was consulted and found no evidence that the fire was hate-motivated. TPS continues to investigate.
The office of the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia said it will investigate the killings as a hatecrime and an act of terrorism. Members of Congress visited the Museum on Thursday to offer their support and condolences.
Combatting Hate Act
Bill C-9, known as the Combatting Hate Act, came into force on July 18, amending the Criminal Code to strengthen protections against hate-motivated crimes.
He said laws introduced during the previous Parliament covering hate symbols, hatecrimes, and hate speech "have not resulted in the number of charges that we had hoped"—a concern he had raised some weeks ago with Australian Federal Police Commissioner
Mohamed Sabry Soliman, 45, has been arrested and is under investigation for terrorism and hatecrimes. The attack happened just hours before the Jewish holiday of Shavuot, drawing condemnation from leaders nationwide.
Officers from the Integrated Gun and Gang Task Force, with support from the HateCrime Unit and the Service's Counter Terrorism Security Unit, were involved in the arrest.
Across all of Los Angeles County, anti-Jewish hatecrimes increased 91 percent from 2022 to 2023, according to the 2023 HateCrime Report from the County Commission on Human Relations.
The 2021 Census documented 335,295 Jews living in Canada, whereas there were 920 police-reported hatecrimes targeting Jews in 2024, according to Statistics Canada.
Opposition immigration spokesman and moderate Paul Scarr said he has thrown his "100 percent support" behind Ley and backed her handling of the vote on contentious hatecrime legislation, which passed with Liberal support.
Separately, Soliman has been indicted on 12 federal hatecrime counts. He entered a not guilty plea to those charges in federal court on Friday.
Mohamed Sabry Soliman.
The FBI’s hatecrime statistics, gathered from 16,419 agencies covering 95.1 percent of the population, showed a 1.5 percent decrease in reported incidents.
NSW Police reiterated they take hatecrimes seriously. If anyone witnessed or was a victim of a hatecrime, they are encouraged to report the incident through Crime Stoppers.
