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, he91裸聊视频檚 choosing to speak out.

91裸聊视频淭his is something that 91裸聊视频� when it91裸聊视频檚 not called out when you see it 91裸聊视频� it emboldens people91裸聊视频檚 bad behaviour,91裸聊视频� Murdoch told the Oak Bay News. 91裸聊视频淭he silence is where the danger is.91裸聊视频�

He91裸聊视频檚 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.

91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 not large amounts but I just think we91裸聊视频檙e better than this,91裸聊视频� Murdoch said. 91裸聊视频淚 need to say something, I think being silent is dangerous.91裸聊视频�

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So he spoke up 91裸聊视频� quite publicly.

91裸聊视频淚 find it very sad how prevalent hate continues to be in our society; old prejudices always seem to crop up in times of conflict 91裸聊视频� 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,91裸聊视频� 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.

91裸聊视频淚 can say something,91裸聊视频� Murdoch said. 91裸聊视频淚t91裸聊视频檚 incumbent on the majority to stand up and say we won91裸聊视频檛 accept that. I do believe our society is much better than that.91裸聊视频�

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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 he91裸聊视频檚 talking about. He91裸聊视频檚 also adamant no minority group should feel unsafe or unwelcome 91裸聊视频渘o matter where they were born.91裸聊视频�

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 91裸聊视频� 91裸聊视频渘ever again.91裸聊视频�