Montreal police are investigating after an incendiary object was thrown against the door of a Jewish community center early Monday morning, The Canadian Press reported.
The Jewish Community Council of Montreal said in a statement that its building in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood was hit with a Molotov cocktail shortly after midnight.
Liberal MPs Anthony Housefather and Rachel Bendayan said on X that the incident happened hours after they had met at the center to discuss a federal program that provides funding and other support for communities at risk of hate-motivated crimes.
Montreal police media relations officer Julien Lévesque said emergency responders were called at about 1:00 a.m. after an incendiary device was thrown at the door of a building in Côte-des-Neiges. Lévesque said firefighters transferred the investigation to the police's arson squad, adding that no one was injured and there was only minor damage.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante promised that police were working hard to track down the culprits, and reiterated her support for a Jewish community that is "once again plunged into worry."
"Montreal is a city of peace and inclusion," she wrote on X. "It must remain so and we'll make sure of it."
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau wrote on X, “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.”
Henry Topas, B’nai Brith Canada’s Quebec Regional Director, who was on the scene as the police arrived, condemned the incident well.
“We condemn the cowardly act of throwing a Molotov Cocktail at the entrance of the Jewish Community Council of Montreal,” Topas posted on X. “We trust that the SPVM [Montreal Police] will soon make arrests in these cases.”
Monday’s incident is the latest in a string of antisemitic incidents in Montreal in recent weeks. At the beginning of November, Congregation Beth Tikvah in Dollard-Des Ormeaux was hit by firebombs.
Several days later, two Jewish schools in the city were hit with gunshots. Another Jewish school was riddled with bullets three days after that.
According to The Canadian Press, since the Hamas attack in Israel on October 7, there have been 324 reported hate incidents in Montreal targeting Muslims and Jews, and there are 118 investigations open.
By comparison, there were 50 hate crimes and 21 incidents targeting people based on their religion in 2022, along with 118 hate crimes and 35 incidents targeting people based on their ethnic or national origin.