Montreal police investigating suspected arson at West Island synagogue and Federation CJA offices

The Montreal police department (SPVM) is investigating attempted arson at a West Island synagogue and a building with the office for a Jewish organization.

The SPVM reports an incendiary object was thrown through the front door of the Congregation Beth Tikvah synagogue in Dollard-des-Ormeaux (DDO) on Westpark Street Monday night. And two incendiary objects were thrown on the back door of another building which houses Federation CJA’s office on Roger-Pilon Street.

The damage was minimal.

“During the night a call was made to 911 concerning someone who was throwing an incendiary object on the front door of the synagogue, it’s just this morning that the case has been [transferred] to the SPVM,” says Sabrina Gauthier, spokesperson for police. “It was quickly [extinguished] by firefighters. It was minor damage.”

The congregation’s cantor and Quebec regional director of B’nai Brith Canada , Henry Topas, says its members are horrified. He and other congregants arrived at the synagogue around 7:30 a.m. Tuesday and saw the glass and damages from the fire.

The SPVM says no arrests have been made so far and the investigation is ongoing – no motive has been confirmed.

They report the investigation is led by the Arson squad, in collaboration with the Hate Crimes Unit, but it’s not a Hate Crimes investigation as of yet.

The police force says there have been 48 reported hate crimes against the Jewish community on the Montreal territory between Oct. 7 and 31, 2023, since the Israel-Hamas war began. There have been 17 reported hate crimes against the Muslim community during the same time frame.

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“It’s unhealthy, the stress, the anxiety that we’re feeling as a community. And I will tell you that we are addressing not tens, not hundreds, thousands of calls daily about concerns about security,” said Yair Szlak, the president and chief executive officer of Federation CJA. “The first gut instinct is, phew, it was done at night, or done outside hours of operation, and the second this is, how dare this happen, how could this happen?”

“It’s certainly not consistent with Quebec values. It’s not consistent with where we live and who are,” said Eta Yudin, the vice-president of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs — Quebec at a press conference on Tuesday afternoon reacting to this incident.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau reacted to the incident on social media, saying, “The attempted arson at Federation CJA West Island and Congregation Beth Tikvah in Montreal is deeply disturbing. Antisemitism is completely unacceptable and must always be condemned – our government will continue to work with Jewish communities to combat this hatred.”

“We are calling for an establishment of a national security council,” added Yudin. “We are calling for better collection and communication about statistics of hate crimes – and we are calling for a social media campaign that would deal with online hate.”

She said that they have been advocating for stronger online hate legislation. “But along with that comes online hate education. What our children are being exposed to online, what adults are being exposed to online – all of you have phones…you’ve all seen the kind of stuff that’s being spewed on social media.

“Violence and aggression are unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our community. This is not who we are and it does not reflect our values,” said Alex Bottausci, Mayor of DDO in a statement. “All residents in Dollard-des-Ormeaux have the right to live in peace and safety and it is my duty as Mayor to ensure the security of all residents. Our city is invested in the safety of our community and are working closely with the SPVM and our municipal patrol to ensure the security of our residents.”

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante also condemning the action. “This is not acceptable. Any events that targets any communities including of course the Jewish community and we’ve seen also a lot of Islamophobic events through the years, so we need to be very vigilant and cautious.”

“What’s happening there is terrible. We mourn lives on all sides. We care for innocent lives everywhere. But this is not for our backyard,” said Szlak