“It affects me emotionally and psychologically, and it forces me to become more cautious in my daily life,” she told National Post.
“When you see what has happened recently in Sydney or at (Brown) University this week, it becomes impossible to dismiss these threats…These incidents show us exactly where unchecked hate and intimidation can lead.”
On Sunday, 15 people in Australia were killed in a terror attack while celebrating Hanukkah at Bondi Beach. Two students were murdered in another incident at Brown University in Rhode Island over the weekend. Police have identified a person of interest in the Brown shooting but have not said whether they have determined a motive.
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In late November, Mattova said she was kicked out of a vehicle by an Uber driver for being Jewish. She was left at an intersection in downtown Toronto in the middle of the night. The company told National Post earlier this month that it was “deeply sorry” for her experience and that they contacted Mattova “directly” and took “appropriate action on the driver.” Uber did not say what action was taken.
Since then, more Canadian Jews have come forward to share their experiences with Uber. That includes a Jewish couple who were travelling in Europe in August when they said an Uber driver wouldn’t take them because they were from Israel, and another Jewish couple who said an Uber driver refused to take them home from the Toronto airport in February after he heard them speaking Hebrew.
Although many people showed support for Mattova online, she also faced a deluge of antisemitic hate messages and death threats. “Should have just slit your throat lol,” one person wrote to her on Instagram.
“(I’m going to) kill you someday,” another person wrote.
She was called a “dirty Zionist Jew,” “baby killer” and an “unhuman terrorist” for sharing her support for Israel. One person sent her a private message with an image that said: “Murderer rot in hell.”
Another person commented that Mattova was a “shameless genocide lover,” and added, “one day you’ll reap what you sow.”
“So happy the Uber driver kicked you out for being a Jew,” one person wrote.
She reported the threats she received to Toronto police. She said it was “sobering” to learn how difficult it is to trace the people behind the accounts.
“Uttering threats is a serious criminal offence. All reported incidents will be investigated thoroughly,” Toronto police spokesperson Cindy Chung told National Post in an email. Anyone receiving a death threat via social media, email, or any digital platform should call 911 if it is believed to be an “imminent threat to your life or physical safety,” she said.