A 21-year-old Skinhead and a young woman, apparently his girlfriend, were arrested here in connection with the June 11 desecration of a suburban Toronto synagogue.
Zvonimir Lelas and Elizabeth Major, 20, were charged with malicious mischief following a police investigation that led to their arrest.
Lelas is also charged with two counts of mischief for defacing a Hebrew school, Yeshiva Yesodei Yeshurun, near the Shaarei Shomayim synagogue.
The synagogue itself was spray-painted with 3-foot-high swastikas and racist slogans, such as “White Power.”
The sidewalk in front of the synagogue was painted with a red swastika and the slogan “Smash ZOG,” which stands for “Zionist Occupation Government.”
The Canadian Jewish Congress described the vandalism as “the most serious incident of its kind in Canada” since the end of World War II.
The CJC initially offered a $10,000 reward for information leading to the arrest of the perpetrators. With the help of other organizations, Jewish and non-Jewish, it was increased to $25,000.
Police credited the CJC with providing information that led to the arrests of Lelas and Major.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
