An interfaith couple in a trendy inner-city area of Winnipeg came home late on New Year’s Eve to find a rock painted with anti-Semitic slurs left on their doorstep.

The homeowners arrived at their residence around 10 p.m. in the Wolseley area near downtown to find a gift bag near their front steps. To their horror, the “gift” turned out to be a rock the size of a loaf of bread with a swastika painted on it, along with the words “Die Jew Bitch. Einsatzgruppen” – the latter word referring to Nazi mass killing units during World War II.

The rock was wrapped in a ribbon with the words “Jude Bitch get out of our neighbourhood” written on it.

The couple, who wished to remain anonymous, immediately contacted B’nai Brith Canada’s anti-hate hotline, and Winnipeg police’s hate crimes unit is investigating the incident.

B’nai Brith said the homeowners were “completely bewildered” as to why they were targeted

“It’s so invasive,” one of the owners told B’nai Brith. “So horrible. It’s difficult to put into words. And it’s frightening, too. We don’t know what would cause someone to do this, but we have had a couple of private issues with people, so who knows? We’ve forwarded all our information and concerns to the police.”

On Jan. 6, the Winnipeg Free Press reported that the wife is Jewish and the child of Holocaust survivors, but the husband is Catholic and they have little connection with the Jewish community. The wife told the paper she lit Chanukah candles that were not visible from the street, though a large Christmas tree was visible through the window.

Considering that the number of anti-Semitic incidents in Winnipeg have been decreasing, this one is worrisome,” said Toronto-based B’nai Brith spokesperson Marty York.

“This is very unusual for Winnipeg,” Winnipeg police spokesperson Const. Rob Carver said in a B’nai Brith press release. “I can count on one hand in the 24 years I’ve been in this position the number of incidents that were as egregious and as threatening as this. We are very concerned about this and taking it very seriously.

“We are treating this as a hate crime. We don’t get many incidents like this in Winnipeg. We occasionally get international events that will prompt anti-Semitic reactions, but this one is so much more egregious that we’re spending more time on this.”

READ: WINNIPEGGER ADMITS TO ANTI-SEMITIC POSTERS

Amanda Hohmann, national director of B’nai Brith’s League for Human Rights, said her organization “will continue to work closely with the family involved, as well as Winnipeg police, to ensure that this incident is treated with the seriousness it deserves, and that this does not result in a general increase in anti-Semitism in Winnipeg.”

In a statement, Adam Levene, president of the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg, called the incident “surprising and hateful.” adding, “Not everyone knows the term ‘Einzatsgruppen’ or the specificity of their mandate. It is therefore so disheartening to see the term on the rock. This was written by someone who has some knowledge about the Holocaust.”

He added that he was “very pleased that the Winnipeg Police Service is involved and that they consider this a hate crime. I am also pleased to see that there is discussion currently on the nature and definition of hate crimes.”

Though rare, anti-Semitic incidents aren’t entirely unheard of in Winnipeg.

Four years ago, Gordon Warren, an unsuccessful candidate for Winnipeg City Council, put up several posters downtown under the title “$hitler’s List,” accusing then-mayor Sam Katz and a list of other largely local Jewish businessmen of shady business dealings. Police investigated, but decided the posters weren’t anti-Semitic.

There have been also occasional reports of swastikas being painted on the sides of houses and buildings, though not necessarily Jewish-owned houses, and the Wolseley area where the incident took place is not an identifiably Jewish neighbourhood.

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