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Not everyone is convinced about the reason a Saskatoon synagogue was egged earlier this month.
On the morning of Aug. 1, police say a man took a carton of eggs and threw them at Congregation Agudas Israel on McKinnon Avenue, as well as at multiple vehicles.
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It happened in the middle of a Sabbath religious service.
Then on Aug. 13, according to Saskatoon police, Jayden Clarke turned himself in to police headquarters. He was charged with three counts of mischief under $5,000 and later released on conditions.
Clarke’s lawyer, Brian Pfefferle, said the act was “alcohol-induced” and “was not hate-motivated, was not directed at the Jewish community.”
That explanation doesn’t sit right with some, though.
Congregation Agudas Israel co-president Mike Scharfstein said the community is having a hard time believing it had, “nothing to do with the fact that we are Jewish.”
“It’s just difficult to wholeheartedly buy that right away,” he said.
“Just the nature of our building is not on a public, major thoroughfare or anything. It’s a place that you have to kind of seek out if you want to find, and of course that’s by design,” Scharfstein added.
According to Scharfstein, the synagogue is working with Pfefferle to understand why their specific building was targeted.
If the egging was random, he said it would be a relief for the community, “but the idea that this is just some coincidence doesn’t sit well with a lot of people, yet.”
Regardless of the motivation behind it, though, Scharfstein said the result is that people feel afraid.
“We’re not concerned about eggs thrown at the building. We can clean those off,” he said.
“The real concern for us is, what happens next? What happens when the next person comes and maybe they throw a brick through the window instead of an egg? What happens if somebody shows up with even worse intentions?” Scharfstein said.
While the sense of safety in the community has improved since Clarke’s arrest, there’s still heightened security at the synagogue.
According to Scharfstein, that will be in place for the foreseeable future.
“We’ve got to try to find a way for people to feel like they’re safe and protected when they come to our community,” he said.
Scharfstein said he hates seeing extra security every time he walks in since it’s a reminder of what happened – and how Jewish people, globally, have been targeted in recent years.
Making reparations
According to Scharfstein, if Clarke wants the community’s forgiveness for allegedly egging the synagogue, there are certain steps he’d need to take.
They’re part of a Jewish concept called teshuvah, which Scharfstein said includes, “taking full responsibility, making sure that it will never happen again, (and) making reparations.”
Though, what those reparations are remains to be seen.
Scharfstein said leaders are still in the early stages of figuring out how the community can move forward to feel safe, and it’s going to be a long process.
This incident, he said, has brought forward deep-seated concerns, stemming further back than Aug. 1.
Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct a misspelling of Scharfstein’s name.
-with files from 650 CKOM’s Mia Holowaychuk
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