Stars of David drawn in front of Palestinian-owned store a hate crime, Food Fare owner says

A Winnipeg business owner says his family is being targeted by a hate crime after more than a dozen Stars of David were scrawled onto the pavement in front of one of his stores on the weekend.

Ramsey Zeid, who is Palestinian, considers the incident a threat, one of many he says he has experienced since the start of the Israel-Hamas conflict in October 2023.

"It's disgusting. They're trying to intimidate and silence us," said Zeid, co-owner of the local Food Fare grocery chain and president of the Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba.

"I've been regularly attacked, and now they're moving on to my family and our other businesses. This is not right and something needs to be done about it."

Almost exactly one year ago, Zeid reported being harassed by strangers calling up to 30 times a day and accusing him of being a terrorist and of killing babies.

He has filed a police report about the latest incident and provided them with security video that shows a man and woman using chalk to draw the stars outside the store at Portage Avenue and Burnell Street on Sunday.

Each of the symbols, which have since been washed off, were about a foot in size, Zeid said.

"These weren't tiny stars."

The six-pointed Star of David is a common symbol for both Judaism and Israel. Included among the stars was also a single drawing of a heart.

"If somebody went and drew a Palestinian flag in front of an Israeli or Jewish-owned store or business, I think it would be investigated as a hate crime. So in my eyes, this is definitely [one]," Zeid said.

"I am outspoken about Palestine and people know who I am and what my family does. It's hard to think that this isn't a targeted incident."

Winnipeg police confirmed to CBC News that they are investigating the incident and the hate crimes co-ordinator has been notified.

Zeid said the drawings were made sometime in the late morning, before noon, when there were customers going in and out of the store. 

"They're becoming more and more brazen and they don't care if anybody sees them or if anybody is offended or hurt by what their actions are doing," he said.