(Montreal) Jewish defense organizations called on authorities to act to protect their communities on Thursday after bullet holes were discovered at a Jewish school for the second time in a week in Canada.
The Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) is investigating after a building housing a Jewish school and a synagogue, in the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough, was allegedly hit by shootings, just days after a Jewish girls’ school in Toronto was also targeted by gunfire.
No one was injured in either incident.
Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Holocaust Studies Center described the event in Montreal as “the latest in a continuing wave of anti-Semitic incidents in Canada since October 7,” the day hostilities between Israel and Hamas have resumed following a deadly Hamas attack on Israel.
“Immediate and decisive action is necessary to ensure the safety and security of Jewish communities across Canada,” President Michael Levitt said in a statement. We call on all levels of government to implement urgent and comprehensive measures to protect Canadian Jews. »
The SPVM received information that projectile impacts were visible on the school located on Hillsdale Road in the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough. Police went to the school around 6 p.m. Wednesday and found two bullet holes in the front of the school.
The Jewish Community Council of Montreal confirmed that the alleged shooting took place at the Belz school, located at the Young Israel of Montreal synagogue.
On Thursday, a police car was parked outside and what appeared to be a bullet hole was visible in the glass of the building’s door.
Police said they did not know exactly when the shootings occurred. No suspects had been identified as of Thursday afternoon.
Outrage and condemnation
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau denounced the violence and promised that law enforcement would work to ensure those responsible were arrested.
“I was of course relieved that no one was hurt, but I am disgusted by these vile and despicable acts of anti-Semitism. This must stop now, he said in Toronto. To Jewish parents and students across the country, we stand with you. We will always work to protect your right to proudly live a Jewish life in Canada. »
The event comes less than a week after Toronto police said shots were fired at Bais Chaya Mushka elementary school, and months after similar incidents at other Jewish institutions in Montreal that followed the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.
The SPVM announced last week that it had arrested a 20-year-old man in connection with shots fired against a Jewish school in the city in November 2023.
The Crown Attorney’s Office says Abdizarak Mahdiahmed faces charges of discharging a firearm, theft and receiving stolen vehicles.
Another Jewish school in Montreal was also targeted by shooting and a synagogue in the city’s suburbs was the target of a firebomb at the end of the year. No one was injured in these incidents.
Two Jewish organizations, Federation CJA and the Advisory Center for Jewish and Israel Relations, issued a joint statement Wednesday evening condemning news of the shootings and calling on Montreal municipal leaders to do more to combat anti-Semitism.
“We are now calling on all citizens of good faith, those for whom all this disgusting hatred is going beyond the limits,” wrote the president and CEO of Federation CJA, Yair Szlak, and the vice-president of CIJA Quebec, Eta Yudin. Enough is enough, the importation of this conflict into Quebec at the cost of destroying what binds us! »
Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre also condemned this act.
“We are witnessing a terrifying escalation of anti-Semitism in this country,” he wrote on the social network X. “The Trudeau government must act and finally take measures to protect Jews in Canada against this violence. »
Jewish community calls for change
The Montreal Jewish Community Council has called for an increased police presence as well as changes to the federal security infrastructure program, which provides funding to communities at risk of being victims of hate crimes.
He recommended that the Canadian government provide access to the program to more establishments and cover a greater percentage of the costs, based on the size and capacity of the establishment, to allow smaller establishments to purchase equipment such as security cameras.
The Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the CIJA were less precise in their demands towards the authorities. However, both have targeted pro-Palestinian encampments erected on various university campuses, suggesting they contribute to anti-Semitism.
“For months and months, we have seen on our streets and on our college campuses the open promotion and glorification of violence against Jews,” Mr. Levitt wrote. History has taught us that what begins with words often leads to violence, and that is the dark reality that Canadian Jews face today. »
In an emailed response, Mme Yudin described the encampments as “toxic and hateful,” writing that “chants of hatred and anti-Semitism should not be the daily reality on our streets.”
Members of different camps have denied the anti-Semitic nature of their protests and say they are aimed at denouncing the deaths of Palestinians and calling on their schools to disengage from Israel.