An anti-religion zealot who quit his job to pursue years of unrealistic court challenges and diatribes against religious belief — such as demanding justices of the Supreme Court resign for swearing an oath of office that invokes God — increasingly turned his public ire to one group, Jews, in the months leading up to his arrest after a Jewish woman was stabbed at an Ottawa grocery store on Wednesday.

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.

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Ottawa police said a woman in her 70s was stabbed in the torso by a stranger as she shopped at a west-end Loblaws, a grocery store known for having the largest kosher selection in

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