An Israeli-born Jew living in Vancouver says he felt an "unsettling fear" after discovering antisemitic graffiti in Chinatown this week.
Ben* (name changed to protect his identity) lives at the University of British Columbia (UBC) with his wife and children. He was having lunch with a friend on October 31 when he spotted hateful words left by a vandal at Main and Pender streets.
Located on the side of a brick wall, the graffiti read, "Free Palestine, kill Jews" in all white capital letters.
Ben reported the graffiti to the Vancouver Police Department (VPD), who told him it is under investigation and police would review the incident with both its graffiti and hate crimes teams.
While the discovery has left him "terrified," Ben told V.I.A. that his fears have been increasing over the past few weeks as the Israel and Palestine conflict intensified. He has lived in Vancouver for over a decade he didn't have "to be afraid of who I am," but says he never felt unsafe until now.
After the founder of Hamas called for a day of protest on Friday the 13th, Ben and his wife felt what he characterizes as something similar to a panic attack and that they "didn't feel safe in the house anymore." The couple woke their kids up in the middle of the night and spent two days at a friend's house because they were afraid to stay at their residence. Although it may have been an irrational fear, he notes that "we felt that we are a target."
Back in Israel, the Vancouverite supported the land-back movement for Palestinians, describing himself as a "leftist" who protested at Palestinian rallies in his homeland.
"I am an Israeli Jewish person and an avid supporter of a Palestinian state," Ben said. "This whole thing is shattering me."