The desecration of the Al Waxman memorial in Toronto has left the family of the late Jewish-Canadian icon shaken.
Stratford residents Adam Waxman and his son, Asher, visited the King of Kensington memorial and where shocked to find it vandalized, with 'vote for Hamas' enscribed on the bronze statue. Adam's mother, Sara, was also at Bellevue Square Park on Sunday.
Adam Waxman said it was disappointing on many levels - his late father was an entertainment icon known for his role as Larry King in the popular King of Kensington television show.
"My dad was an everyman and he embodied his character the King of Kensington. We drove across the country to promote that show because it was important to get the message out that you could have a multicultural cast that reflected the increasingly multicultural mosaic of Toronto.
"That reflects the best of Canada, everyone is bringing something to the table. He did respect everyone equally and believed in equality for everybody."
The statement left behind by a man was acutely offensive and antithetical to it's own cause, Waxman said, coming as it did against the backdrop of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Middle East.
Toronto police have charged a 41-year-old male with five counts of mischief. Police said they are treating the investigation as a potential hate motivated offence.
"To say 'vote for Hamas' contradicts the aspirations of a free Palestinian people. In addition to it being overtly antisemitic, the effigy of a prominent Jewish man, on Shabbat, across from a historic synagogue in the heart of the most multicultural neighbourhood in the most multicultural city."
Al Waxman worked across artistic mediums in more than 1,000 productions. After he died in 2001, a statue of him, created by Ruth Abernethy, was erected in the Kensington Market neighbourhood, where King of Kensington took place.
Waxman said he had to compartmentalize when he first learned what happened.
"My relationship with my dad is a huge part of how I identify myself. I love my dad and I am very protective of that part of my life. So when I see that I just have to switch off my emotions and focus on what has to be done, otherwise it can be debilitating to see a statue of someone you love desecrated in such a way."
Waxman said he found out about the vandalism from friends, getting messages from the U.S, Israel and Thailand. He was surprised at the lack of reaction in Toronto from local politicians.
"It's not that complicated to speak about racism...why is it so complicated for our prime minister not to say anything? Or our premier or the mayor of Toronto? There is such a rise in hate. Whether it is against the trans community, the Chinese community, Muslim communities, Jewish communities...it has to be dealt with."
Adam Waxman grew up in Toronto and moved to Stratford to pursue acting. He performed at the Stratford Festival. Currently, he is publisher of DINE Magazine and has worked as a media liaison for Ontario Tourism and Marketing Partnership.
Waxman said over the years the statue has been vandalized a number of times. It was once painted as the Joker character from Batman. He has learned about city bureaucracy, with work orders getting written out before anything gets fixed. A police line and a black garbage bag was placed over his father's statue to hide the vandalism.
It has since been cleaned up.
Conversations with his son, "are not the ones that I imagined that I would have to have," he said.
Waxman has noticed the increase in hate and racism in Canada against many cultural groups.
"Even for those idiots that don't see Hamas as a terrorist organization, what does that have to do with people living in Toronto? You can have any opinion you like on the subject of what is happening in Israel and Gaza. There are a whole range of opinions from heartbreak to anger and rage. But it has to be directed in a positive way. And not against your fellow citizens in Canada, who have nothing to do with it.
"Just because I am Jewish doesn't mean I am guilty of something going on a half a world away anymore than Canadians of Russian descent are guilty of what is going on in Ukraine."
Waxman said unfortunately people that are full of anger and full of hate will drift toward racism, and often antisemitism.
The vandalism in the middle of one of the country's most diverse communities affects everyone, he said.
"It's really an offence against all of us. And everything that we all stand for as Canadians."
