The National Post reports in its Saturday, Aug. 30, edition that an anti-religion zealot, who quit his job to challenge religious beliefs and called for the resignation of Supreme Court justices for invoking God, focused his public anger on Jews before his arrest following a stabbing incident involving a Jewish woman at an Ottawa Loblaw store. The Post's Adrian Humphreys writes that Joseph (Joe) Rooke, 71, of Cornwall, Ont., has been charged with aggravated assault and possession of a dangerous weapon. Ottawa police said Friday the case is considered a hate-motivated crime. A woman in her 70s was stabbed in the torso by a stranger while shopping at a west-end Loblaw store. She has since been released from the hospital, and a male suspect surrendered to police. Political leaders, along with community and Jewish leaders, are condemning the recent antisemitic attack. Court documents showed Mr. Rooke had made aggressive posts at Facebook, where he openly expresses such views. "Yes I am antisemitic and atheist," says a Facebook post published on Canada Day this summer, part of a long anti-religion treatise that focuses on Judaism, Jews and Israel. Mr. Rooke's Facebook page documents harsh anti-religious and atheist beliefs.
© 2025 Canjex Publishing Ltd. All rights reserved.