A Jewish real estate agent was brutally attacked in broad daylight in Toronto last week by an assailant who identified himself as a Houthi from Yemen.

Joseph Bitton described the incident in a Facebook post, saying that the man threatened to kill him due to his visibly Jewish appearance and then physically assaulted him.

Bitton wrote: “TODAY I WAS PHYSICALLY ATTACKED BY A MUSLIM in Toronto and in broad daylight while at a client’s commercial property. I am visibly Jewish, and the suspect said he was a Houthi from Yemen and was ‘going to kill me because Israel is killing babies and committing genocide.’

“He then threw a parking pylon at me as well as a brick, rocks, metal bars and struck me with a thick tree branch. I sustained only minor scratches and abrasions, but the greater damage was the emotional trauma. I called 911 and officers responded quickly, arrested the suspect, and said they were treating this as a hate crime. I also reported the incident to B’nai Brith and CIJA.

“This is NOT the Canada I grew up in and have lived in over the past 64 years.”

Antisemitic incidents in Canada reached another record high in 2025 for the second consecutive year, with 6,800 reported anti-Jewish hate incidents nationwide, highlighting the continued hostile climate toward Jews and Israelis across the country.

Figures from the beginning of 2026 already indicate that Canada is on track to experience its most violent year against the Jewish community in recent memory, with more violent antisemitic attacks recorded so far this year than during all of 2025. A total of 11 violent antisemitic attacks have been recorded across the country since the start of 2026, exceeding the 10 violent incidents documented throughout the entirety of last year.

(YWN Israel Desk—Jerusalem)