Hate crimes, incidents against Montreal’s Arab-Muslim, Jewish communities continue to increase
Posted December 13, 2023 2:01 pm.
Last Updated December 13, 2023 2:02 pm.
There have been 125 reported hate crimes or incidents against Montreal’s Jewish community since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war, and 37 reported hate crimes or incidents against the Arabic-Muslim community, according to police data.
The data provided to CityNews by the SPVM covered the period from Oct. 7 to Dec. 12 inclusively.
The numbers include Jewish schools that were shot at three times, as well as Molotov cocktails thrown at a synagogue and two other Jewish institutions in November.
No one was injured in those events. There was some property damage.
“We can definitely hear Montrealers, no matter their background, asking for peace,” Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said at a news conference Wednesday. “People are suffering and there’s been stress, there’s been terrible threats and attacks in the past few weeks, so this is serious.”
Since last week’s report, there has been a combined increase of five hate crimes or incidents against the Jewish and Arabic-Muslim communities.
It’s not clear how the latest police statistics compare to a similar timeframe earlier this year as Montreal police say a complete overview of 2023 will only be available next spring in an annual report.
The SPVM has implemented a visibility plan to reduce the number of hate crimes committed since the start of the Israel-Hamas war – at a cost of an estimated $1.7 million last month.
That accounts for officer overtime related to extra police presence around places of worship and other places of interest in the wake of the conflict.
Also Wednesday, Plante called for a “lasting ceasefire in Gaza.”
“The release of all hostages, humanitarian aid and the protection of civilian populations are essential,” Plante tweeted. “Montreal, a peaceful metropolis, will always be on the side of peace.”
