Joel Goldenberg – The Suburban LJI Reporter
Montreal police chief Fady Dagher took part Thursday in a virtual public meeting organized by B’nai Brith Canada’s Quebec regional office and another meeting with Federation CJA and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) to reassure the Jewish community about the SPVM’s ongoing efforts to protect Jewish institutions.
That has included a 24/7 police presence across from where I live, at Yeshiva Gedola School on Deacon Road in CDN-NDG. That school was fired upon twice last month.
Dagher told the B’nai Brith meeting, moderated by Quebec regional director Hank Topas, that patrols and visibility have increased and almost $2 million has been invested so far to protect such institutions as synagogues and schools since the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel, and subsequent antisemitic incidents in Montreal, including 116 hate incidents.
Dagher said 7,600 officers are patrolling 24/7 and the effort is ongoing, and hate crimes have lessened as a result. He also announced all officers will be trained to handle complaints of potential hate crimes.
In his meeting with Federation CJA CEO and president Yair Szlak and CIJA’s Quebec vice-president Eta Yudin, Dagher also said that security has been constant around Jewish community institutions, and that he sees anxiety and stress in the community.
Szlak acknowledged the police visibility, but pointed to recent antisemitic incidents, such as the Molotov cocktails thrown at Beth Tikvah Synagogue and Federation CJA’s West Island headquarters in Dollard des Ormeaux, and the Jewish Community Council, and the shots fired at Yeshiva Gedola and United Talmud Torah, and asked about the status of the investigations and potential arrests.
“Some of the [hate crime] incidents that happened in the past six weeks, we have made some arrests, and the people who have been the victims of these events know [that],” the police chief said. He repeated the same, in French, to Yudin.
Dagher also said, “I really want to make sure my community, the Jewish community, that their behaviour does not change.
“The mezuzah, [other Jewish items], don’t touch them. Keep them and be proud of it. The kippah that you’re wearing, don’t cover it. Continue what you were doing before [the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel]. We should not let the fear get to us.”
Dagher also told Yudin and Szlak he does not know of any direct threat to the Jewish community.
“Please, go to Hanukkah [events]. Celebrate!”
Szlak and Yudin expressed appreciation for Dagher’s efforts.
“You’ve continued to listen to our concerns and I think it’s important for our community to hear that,” Szlak told Dagher. n