Montreal is not immune to the strong tensions caused throughout the world by the war between Israel and Hamas. Since the start of the conflict on October 7, no less than 36 hate crimes and incidents have been recorded by the Montreal police, who have implemented a “visibility plan” near places of worship.
In less than two weeks, the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) claims that some 16 hate crimes have been reported to it. Four of them were committed against the Arab-Muslim community and twelve against the Jewish community, said the SPVM, whose data dates from October 18.
One of these crimes occurred on October 10, when the police intervened during a rally in front of the Israeli consulate in Montreal, to arrest a pro-Palestine demonstrator who attacked supporters of the people Israeli. Another demonstration in support of the Palestinian people also took place this Friday in the city center.
On According to the organization, this type of incident causes a lot of “anxiety and fear” in the neighborhood.
In addition to these 16 hate crimes, there are around twenty hate incidents that have occurred in the last 14 days. Of these, 7 targeted the Arab-Muslim community and 13 attacked the Jewish community.
An upward trend therefore seems clear, since last year, in 2022, the SPVM recorded 284 hate crimes and incidents, an average of barely five per week.
By “hateful incident”, the SPVM means an act that could “affect the feeling of security of a person or an identifiable group of people” because of their ethnic origin, language or religion. Hate crime is a crime “motivated by hatred” of an ethnic origin.
A “visibility plan”
In a statement, Montreal police said Friday that they were “following with great interest the events taking place in the Middle East.”
“Although they are geographically distant from us, we are aware of their impact on the feeling of security of the population, and particularly of the communities involved in the said conflict,” says its administrative spokesperson, Caroline Labelle.
“We have taken measures and in particular put in place a visibility plan around places of worship and other places of interest. The neighborhood stations (PDQ) ensure a constant presence in various sectors, in collaboration with different units of the SPVM,” she adds.
For the rest, the SPVM asks the population to “be vigilant” in the weeks and months to come.
“Any person who needs assistance because they fear for their safety, their physical integrity or because they have the impression of being the subject of harassment, threats or hateful discrimination should never hesitate to contact the 911. Neither do people who witness such behavior,” said Mr. Labelle, assuring that each file will be treated “with great seriousness”.
Same in London
An upward trend in hate crimes has been observed almost everywhere in the world for two weeks, especially in large cities. Overseas, in London, the number of anti-Semitic or Islamophobic acts recorded has also increased significantly since the start of the conflict between Israel and Hamas. “Despite the increased presence of police, we have seen a significant increase in hate crimes in London”, with 218 anti-Semitic criminal acts recorded between 1er and October 18 compared to 15 over the same period last year, London police said in a press release on Friday.
France Media Agency