A Jewish community center in Montreal, Canada was targeted in a firebombing in the early hours of Monday, further escalating tensions in Canada amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.
A Molotov cocktail was thrown through the centre's front door shortly after midnight, causing damage to the building. This incident follows a series of attacks, including shootings and another firebombing, aimed at Jewish schools and institutions in Montreal, Canada’s second-largest city.
The weapon smashed through the glass door and exploded in a hallway, burning part of a carpet.
“No one was present and minimal damage occurred,” the head of Montreal’s Jewish Community Council, Rabbi Saul Emanuel, said in a statement. “The rise in anti-Semitism in our city is frightening and the repeated violence and attacks on our community are abhorrent and condemned in the strongest terms."
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau condemned the act as "vile and hateful," emphasising the need for an immediate halt to such anti-Semitic violence.
Taking to X, formerly Twitter, he said the “continued acts of anti-Semitic violence are deplorable and unacceptable -- and must stop immediately”.
“We must all stand united against such vile, hateful acts,” he said.
I strongly condemn the attack on the Jewish Community Council of Montreal building yesterday. These continued acts of antisemitic violence are deplorable and unacceptable – and must stop immediately. We must all stand united against such vile, hateful acts.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) November 27, 2023
Earlier this month, two Jewish schools were fired on, twice in one case, and a synagogue was struck with a Molotov cocktail. There were no injuries.
The recent spike in hate crimes, particularly those targeting the Jewish community, has prompted warnings from the police in Montreal and Toronto, both cities with significant Jewish populations. These incidents occur against the backdrop of increased attacks on Jewish targets globally, notably in Europe, amid the ongoing Israeli strikes on Gaza in response to the October 7 attack by Hamas militants.
