Montreal Jewish leaders are sounding the alarm about a “frightening” rise in antisemitism after a Jewish community centre was attacked with a Molotov cocktail.
An unknown suspect threw a Molotov cocktail at the offices of the Jewish Community Council in Montreal’s Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce area early Monday morning.
The incident, which occurred at approximately 12:35 a.m. at the community centre located on Décarie Blvd. near Vézina St., resulted in minor damage to the building’s entrance and no reported injuries.
The Montreal police arson squad has initiated an investigation into the attack.
Rabbi Saul Emanuel, the executive director of the Jewish Community Council, expressed deep concern over the escalating antisemitism in Montreal in a press release.
“The rise in antisemitism in our city is frightening, and the repeated violence and attacks on our community are abhorrent and condemned in the strongest terms,” Emanuel wrote.
He emphasized the community’s urgent need for increased security funding. Since the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel, Emanuel said that the Jewish Community Council has been meeting with the federal and Quebec governments, calling for increased funding to ensure the safety and security of the Jewish community.
Marvin Rotrand, national director of B’nai Brith’s League for Human Rights, supported Emanuel’s call for enhanced security measures, asking for a “major” boost in resources for the Montreal police hate crimes unit, according to the Montreal Gazette.
“There need to be arrests quickly to reassure the community,” Rotrand wrote in a statement Monday morning.
Henry Topas, regional director of B’nai Brith Quebec, speaking to reporters outside the centre on Monday morning, highlighted the intentional nature of the attack.
“This was deliberate, very deliberate,” Topas said, pointing out the lack of visible Jewish symbols on the building.
“People would have to have known that this is a Jewish location. This is a target. It’s a sad target that has been chosen by hateful people,” he said.
This latest incident follows a series of attacks on Jewish institutions in Montreal.
Earlier this month, two Montreal Jewish schools were shot at.
Also, earlier in November, True North reported the evacuation of a Jewish school in Toronto due to a bomb threat.
A West Island synagogue and Jewish community centre in Toronto were both targeted by firebombs in the first week of November.
