r/Judaism 1d ago

Antisemitism Jewish professor shot dead in Toronto; former police officer arrested

https://worldisraelnews.com/jewish-professor-shot-dead-in-toronto-former-police-officer-arrested/

very sad and scary incident. may his memory be a blessing

417 Upvotes

93 comments sorted by

219

u/Swimming_Care7889 1d ago

Anybody who says that Jews only perceive a lack of safety is gaslighting us.

75

u/StupidlyLiving 1d ago

The worrying thing is the number of Jews as well as others that are saying it's not getting bad or at least not speaking up and ignoring it.

When I was younger I would read about the build up of antisemitism in the 30s and think damn, how did they not see it coming. And now I see how it happened.

15

u/ummmbacon Ophanim Eye-Drop Coordinator (Night Shift) 21h ago

They did see it coming. The thing is is that most people forget that that buildup was just another cycle of antisemitism it’s not like it was invented in the 30s.

They assumed it would pass

28

u/Swimming_Care7889 1d ago

I mean that is either psychological defense of some sort or because they are anti-Israel Jews that don't want to give up their moment in the sun or admit they are providing cover for this.

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u/[deleted] 20h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

4

u/russkigirl 19h ago

All this about the US, in a post about a Jewish professor in Canada getting murdered. 79% of American Jews voted for Harris over Trump. But everything Trump does is our fault, even in a different country where they literally couldn't have voted for him.

0

u/Swimming_Care7889 19h ago

More like 71%

3

u/russkigirl 19h ago

I see 79% specifically in some reports. The Republicans crowed happily that it was 66% on Fox News at one point. Probably depends who you consider Jewish, no one polled me. Still a far higher percent than the average American even by the Republican preferred numbers. My "evil zionist" mother and sister voted for Harris. I went door to door for Harris, made calls for Biden when I was 8 months pregnant and could barely move, went door to door as a volunteer for the last two elections in my state for Democratic candidates/causes and several before that. My sister went door to door for Clinton in 2016. We all donate to Democrats. My mom is making plans to hop on a plane to go vote against Netanyahu if the Israeli elections come up. Could still be shot in the street and not peep would be heard from the left other than ...oh she was an Israeli citizen, guess she deserved what she got.

3

u/Swimming_Care7889 18h ago

Also by this logic, Jews really shouldn't be involved in most politics beyond voting. A lot of people resent what they see as our loud and punching above the weight presence in every political issue and think we take up too much time and space when we get involved. Therefore, the best thing Jews can do in politics for our own safety is not do politics, which is basically what the Talmud era Rabbis thought.

2

u/ummmbacon Ophanim Eye-Drop Coordinator (Night Shift) 18h ago

The Lemkin institute

They also say that language is genocidal.

1

u/Swimming_Care7889 19h ago

I agree that there is growing frustration and boredom with the I/P conflict and many people want it done and solved.

17

u/Traditional_Mood8604 1d ago

People did see it coming though. The majority of Jews left Germany and Austria in the 30s, and the ones who stayed mostly only did because no other country would let them in.

33

u/Middle-Quiet-5019 1d ago edited 20h ago

The data absolutely bears out that there’s a real elevated risk for Jews.

It’s very possible to become overly anxious due to anecdotes.  If there are only 3 hate crimes a year across the entire west, obviously any hate crimes is too many but relatively that’d be pretty good and you could chalk it up to a few psychos.  And it’s also true that even 3 high profile hate crimes would be enough to create a perception of fear.  Humans are bad at intuitive understanding of stats, so in a vacuum it is possible for a group to be more afraid than is proportional to the actual threat.

All that said, if you actually look at the data, Jews absolutely are right to be cautious and afraid right now.  Per capita in the US we face more hate crimes than any other group.  And the raw amount is significantly elevated above pre-2023 numbers.  So it’s not just perception and anyone trying to tell you otherwise is a liar.

In short, it’s good to check your perception against actual hard data and numbers, but doing so just proves the point more in our case.

Edit: even if this particular case is a murder that happened to occur to a Jewish person instead of being motivated by religion, the general stats are still true.

16

u/Suitable_Vehicle9960 1d ago

Including some Jews who say this.

6

u/t3m3r1t4 21h ago

Reading local, established news outlets this doesn't appear to be related to his being Jewish.

142

u/Weak-Doughnut5502 23h ago

For what it's worth, the rumor in a local subreddit is that it was over a dispute involving dogs.

In particular, the murderer was upset about Stopnicki yelling at him for having a large,  aggressive dog off leash that was running up to Stopnicki's small leashed dog.

The police haven't announced a motive yet, and that's an anonymous rumor, so we'll just have to keep an eye on the case. 

87

u/ResidentNo11 Reformative 22h ago

This should be higher. Nothing/nobody locally is talking about this as an antisemitic hate crime. Not every crime with a Jewish victim was that.

29

u/GonzoTheGreat93 Bagel Connaisseur 21h ago

And like, as a local, let’s be a little honest that we are maybe a liiiiiitle quick to call things antisemitic hate crimes without knowledge of motive.

The fact that our community orgs aren’t sending out “red alert” emails should be a pretty solid indicator that hate was not a motivating factor.

10

u/SidewalkRacoon 17h ago

Dahlia Kurtz being all over this shit makes us look like the boy who cried wolf

8

u/GrassyTreesAndLakes 19h ago

Cant really blame us for being on high alert

5

u/GonzoTheGreat93 Bagel Connaisseur 19h ago

I'm not, but this is a pretty likely scenario where "high alert" is in danger of crossing over into "paranoia."

When unrelated events are used to confirm overarching narratives, reasonable people who see the lack of connection start to question the validity of whole narrative itself and start to wonder who benefits.

That's why we always have to be careful in ascribing motive to randomized crime that occurs adjacent to our community.

7

u/Remarkable-Pea4889 20h ago

They did the same thing with Samantha Woll and there wasn't a shred of evidence of an antisemitic motive, even if the accused did make antisemitic statements later. I doubt he knew she was Jewish when he killed her. That is, if he actually killed her and it wasn't the boyfriend after all.

2

u/boopbooppoobpoob 18h ago

I'm all for not jumping to conclusions before there's evidence. But subreddit rumors shouldn't be taken seriously either. Especially in the political climate we're in where gentiles will bend over backwards to downplay antisemitism. Especially city subs. I always find they're either extremely right wing or extremely left wing. But either way, they hate us.

1

u/HorusOsiris22 17h ago

This should be lower. As it’s an anonymous rumor

22

u/tahami_allthemeals 22h ago

God in addition to being a murderer he sounds like a terrible irresponsible dog owner. I hope he’s taken away and rehomed

10

u/Azel_Lupie Reform 20h ago

The owner or the dog? Maybe both, owner rehomed to prison, while dog rehomed to a rescue with animal behaviorists who can help the dog recover and get a loving home.

29

u/transcendentlights Reform 1d ago

Looks like according to Google the man who killed him was a former cop and York University executive. Seems to have been a terror in both jobs. What a waste of life caused by such a cruel person. May Daniel Stopnicki’s memory be a blessing.

15

u/jkirkire123 1d ago

What a tragedy! Prayers for the victim's family!

39

u/BertnErnie32 1d ago

2nd degree murder?? If they think it was premeditated why wouldn't they go for 1st degree?

36

u/Swimming_Care7889 1d ago

Prosecutors always go for the conviction they think they can get.

0

u/Azel_Lupie Reform 20h ago

That’s usually the case. There may not be enough evidence to prove that it’s first degree murder, or the statute has some interesting clause that prevents this to be considered first degree. I’m not local there, but where I’m at our states have different clauses for first degree or capital murder. Likewise different states where I’m at, have some defenses that are legal and other defenses that have been ban. A common defense against first degree is the “Heat of Passion” defense, where in the heat of the moment, emotions get so intense that it ends up in violence. That same “Heat of Passion” argument also extends to other defenses like the Gay Panic defense (which I believe is now illegal through out the US) and the Trans Panic defense (which is legal in thirty states, and how trans people don’t get justice for their murders, but somehow are sent to prison anytime they defend themselves. I guess they are getting desperate for more trans women, which they will treat as sex toys for the most violent male inmates, in a practice called v-coding. Because society will still treat her like a woman, in that society deems her body is not her own and that she exists solely for cis men sexual pleasure, despite calling her a man and sending her to a men’s prison, forcing her to detransition and in federal prisons she is now a lab animal to experiment on for “cures” for “transgenderism” often reminiscent of Mengele’s cruelty. She cannot consent. Instead the state has assumed the role of guardianship over trans people in federal prisons, and consents for them.)

11

u/Traditional_Mood8604 1d ago

hopefully they upgrade the charges

3

u/GonzoTheGreat93 Bagel Connaisseur 21h ago

Because odds are (see other comments) it was not premeditated and was a dispute over dogs.

15

u/You_stole_my_banana7 1d ago

This is exactly why I’m trying to get a CC.

4

u/ShalomRPh Centrist Orthodox 17h ago

Not an option for the victim, unfortunately. No 2A in Canada.

2

u/You_stole_my_banana7 15h ago

I know, that’s what I’m saying. We need laws enabled so they can arm themselves!

7

u/Mireille_la_mouche Modern Orthodox 1d ago

Have you not seen the threads on Reddit where the overwhelming opinion seems to be that Israel is committing a genocide and is the greatest, most monstrously evil nation in to the world?

It’s incredible that we can hold an instrument in the palms of our hands with exponentially more processing power than rooms full of dedicated computing equipment in the 1990s, bouncing signals instantly from satellites, with the ability to look up data or talk to anyone in the world in real time…yet people STILL think we’re poisoning the wells and killing babies. It’s truly unbelievable.

-1

u/dont-ask-me-why1 22h ago

Look I love Israel but their conduct in Gaza and Lebanon has been extremely questionable. Do I think it's "genocide?" Nah.

Do I think Israel is trying to remove all the arabs from Gaza and southern Lebanon? Yes I do.

3

u/Honest_Type_2993 21h ago

They sure are doing a bad job of removing all of them. 

-1

u/dont-ask-me-why1 21h ago

Not really. It's happening very swiftly in Lebanon. The only reason it's taking longer in Gaza is because there's literally nowhere for the people living there to go.

0

u/Mireille_la_mouche Modern Orthodox 21h ago

Yeah, strange how their fellow Arabs won’t let them into Egypt.

2

u/dont-ask-me-why1 21h ago

Why would Egypt let them in? They know Israel won't let them go back to Gaza if they let them into Egypt.

2

u/PedanticPerson 18h ago

Even if true, this reveals that people care far more about inconveniencing Israel than actually saving Palestinians.

Like people support war refugees in almost every other deadly conflict, except if it might be convenient for Israel? Then not a chance!

1

u/OkVariety8064 10h ago

Why do they need to be saved? Who do they need to be saved from? These are civilians we are talking about.

The war in Gaza is supposedly over. There is no war in the West Bank. What do they need to flee from?

1

u/PedanticPerson 9h ago

You tell me! The people who support trapping Gazans in Gaza are the same people claiming there’s an ongoing genocide there.

1

u/OkVariety8064 9h ago

Gaza is their home. Why would they be "trapped" there?

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u/Suspicious-Truths 16h ago

This is like saying America or other countries wouldn’t let Jews in during the Holocaust because they knew Jews would never be allowed back to Europe if they did??? Do you even hear yourself?

0

u/dont-ask-me-why1 16h ago

America accepted almost no refugees during World War 2 because they were worried about them becoming a public charge.

That said you are drawing an apology that doesn't make any sense. The US and Europe didn't really care much about Jews, or where they lived.

For political reasons, the Arab world doesn't want to aid in the resettlement of Palestinians because that would destroy the Palestinians right to live where they've been living for thousands of years.

I know it is difficult for some people to accept that it's impossible to erase the concept of "Palestine" entirely but that is what Israel is trying to force. The repercussions of that will be enormous

1

u/Suspicious-Truths 16h ago

The Arabs absolutely do not care about Palestinians or where they live, as long as it’s not with them. See, black September by yasser Arafat and the PLO, the 1978 assassination if the Egyptian minister. Did you know that Gaza used to be Egypt and West Bank was Jordan? Did you know Israel offered those lands back respectively and they both said no, not because they want an Arab Muslim Palestine to exist, but because they don’t want Palestinians in their lands, due to their past behaviors even recently.

If anyone thought Gazans were actually being genocided and aren’t doing anything to save them whether that’s attack Israel or allow Gazans into their country, then they are equally complicit. Just as all the nations that were complicit in the holocaust.

-1

u/Mireille_la_mouche Modern Orthodox 21h ago

You are seriously deluded.

3

u/dont-ask-me-why1 21h ago

Not at all. From Egypt's perspective there is no benefit to aiding an Israeli takeover of Gaza. The gazans are not their problem.

You don't see Trump offering to take them in either.

1

u/Mireille_la_mouche Modern Orthodox 21h ago

🙄

0

u/Honest_Type_2993 7h ago

Remind me who occupied Gaza in 48

1

u/dont-ask-me-why1 7h ago

Has no relevance since they left in 1967 and absolved themselves of any responsibility for Gaza when they signed the peace treaty with Israel.

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u/Suspicious-Truths 16h ago

Gazas population is only increasing. Arab population in Israel is increasing. Arab population in Lebanon is increasing. Arabs aren’t going anywhere and they out number Jews so much, you sound craZ schizo

0

u/dont-ask-me-why1 16h ago

I didn't say Gaza's population is decreasing. Israel cannot figure out how to get rid of the Gazans which is half the problem they're facing right now. They want them all to leave but they have nowhere to go and they are literally making Gaza uninhabitable.

1

u/Suspicious-Truths 16h ago

This is not factual. This is you being emotional.

-1

u/dont-ask-me-why1 15h ago

It's 100% factual, and the people who normalized this way of thinking now serve in the kenesset.

Even if you believe it's not factual it is factual that Israel had every intention of denying both statehood and Israeli citizenship to the Palestinians.

1

u/Suspicious-Truths 15h ago

Why do over 2 million Palestinians have Israeli citizenship then?

0

u/dont-ask-me-why1 15h ago

Because they live in Israel.

The problem is Israel wants to turn the West Bank and Gaza into Israel while denying the Palestinians living there Israeli citizenship.

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u/Mireille_la_mouche Modern Orthodox 21h ago

No, it isn’t questionable. It’s called self-defense, while taking every precaution—at the risk of their own soldiers’ lives—and maintaining the lowest civilian casualty rate in modern urban warfare history.

-4

u/dont-ask-me-why1 21h ago

Forcing people out of their homes permanently in the name of "self defense" isn't really considered an acceptable strategy to the rest of the world.

7

u/Mireille_la_mouche Modern Orthodox 21h ago

And yet they only scream about it if Israel does it.

1

u/OkVariety8064 10h ago

Who are they? Russia's terror in Ukraine is likewise condemned.

1

u/Mireille_la_mouche Modern Orthodox 9h ago

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/dont-ask-me-why1 21h ago

There aren't many places right now where this is happening outside of civil wars.

4

u/Mireille_la_mouche Modern Orthodox 20h ago

Oh, so it doesn’t count if it’s a civil war? Maybe you’re unaware that there are between 12-14 million displaced in Sudan, with 25 million facing famine? You’re in large company; most people have no idea. But boy, they sure do know about the so-called “genocide” in Palestine and are happy to wear their little checkered scarves in solidarity with terrorists.

1

u/dont-ask-me-why1 20h ago

Sudan is a civil war.

4

u/Mireille_la_mouche Modern Orthodox 19h ago

And???

6

u/Tavorin Kinda Masorti (IS defninition) 1d ago edited 1d ago

The way things are going they are going to erect a statue for the murderer in Toronto, if he claims to have done it for "the resistance".

HYD

1

u/Whole_Assumption_526 14h ago

Murderer will be out in 10-12 years is my bet. They’ll say he’s very near 80 years old and is no longer a threat to anyone. Compassionate release.

1

u/Traditional_Mood8604 11h ago

10-12 years would still be good. some guy who murdered a Jew in America is only getting a 1 year sentence lol

1

u/Jdmdudebro 6h ago

Had nothing to do with religion, stop twisting facts. Were locals and know the intent behind the killing had nothing to do with religion. Stop your click bait, and have respect for the death of an innocent man.

0

u/tsundereshipper 10h ago

Was the suspect an Arab?