Jewish-Owned Business Shot at, Another Vandalized in Toronto

A Toronto Police Service logo is seen in Ottawa on Sept. 28, 2025. The Canadian Press/Spencer Colby

Two Jewish-owned bakeries in Toronto were vandalized on July 26, with one also struck by gunfire, in the latest incidents affecting the city’s Jewish community.

Police are investigating whether the two Sunday attacks were hate-motivated.

“One location was struck by gunfire, while the second sustained damage to a window,” the Toronto Police Service said in a post to X.

No injuries have been reported and police are working to see if the two incidents are connected, the post said. The two businesses belong to the same Jewish-owned bakery chain.

The first call to police came in at about 8:12 a.m., with the caller reporting a window being struck by gunfire at Kiva’s Bagel Bar, which sits on the southwest corner of the intersection at Yonge Street and St. Clair Avenue West.

The second report, of a window being broken at the bakery’s location on Steeles Avenue West, came in 18 minutes later. While police did not indicate how the second window was broken, no firearm use was reported.

“We’re going to be increasing our police presence to conduct the investigation for what happened here. And you can also expect an increased presence of police around those locations,” Toronto police Insp. Scott Bradbury told reporters.

Kiva’s Bagel Bar, originally founded in 1979, was purchased in 1999 by the Rafael family. Today, the chain’s Toronto locations—including the original Steeles Avenue West store and the Yonge Street location—are owned and operated by brothers Steven, Ilan, and Ben Rafael.

“When a Jewish-owned business gets hit twice, it’s not coincidence, it’s a targeted campaign of intimidation on one community,” MP Melissa Lantsman wrote on X. “Synagogues, schools, and Jewish businesses come under attack again and again.”

UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, a Jewish charity organization, commented on the incidents in a post to Facebook, saying it is closely monitoring the situation and remain in contact with Toronto Police and community partners.

Mayor Olivia Chow also posted to social media about the incidents, condemning the attacks.

“The targeted attacks on two Jewish-owned Kiva’s Bagel Bar locations are vile and unacceptable,” she wrote. “We all have a responsibility to stand against hate. I will always stand with Toronto’s Jewish community against antisemitism.”

The incidents come amid a broader rise in anti-Semitic attacks targeting Toronto’s Jewish community, including synagogues, schools, businesses, and individuals in recent years, according to police and community groups.

In 2025, “hate crimes motivated by religion, race/ethnic or national origin, sexual orientation and gender identity or expression remained the most frequently reported, with the Jewish community the most frequently targeted group of all hate‑motivated crimes,” says a May 14 Toronto Police Service news release.

On March 2, Temple Emanu-El synagogue in North York was struck by gunfire in an incident investigated by the Toronto Police Hate Crime Unit. No arrests have been announced, and police have not confirmed the shooting was a hate crime.