Young Israel Synagogue

By Joel Goldenberg
The Suburban

The Belz school located in the same building as the Young Israel Synagogue on Hillsdale in Côte des Neiges-NDG was fired upon at 3:36 a.m. Tuesday May 28, but police were only called to the scene the afternoon of Wednesday May 29. The bullet holes were noticed by an employee on Wednesday, and a perpetrator was seen on the school’s video cameras firing at the school.The shooting came six months after Yeshiva Gedolah on Deacon, three blocks away from the school, was fired upon twice. The latest incident also occurred a few days after a Jewish girls school was shot at in Toronto.

For the first time Yair Szlak, president and CEO of Federation CJA and Eta Yudin, Quebec vice-president of the Centre for Israel and Jewish affairs demanded action from the Mayor directly. “We have had enough. Yet another Jewish school was shot at in the middle of the night — in Canada. Decisive action must be taken by Mayor Plante and leadership at the municipal level to finally put an end to the atmosphere of permissiveness towards antisemitism that is now rampant in our city. Mayor Plante referred to Montreal as a “city of peace” [while condemning Israel’s actions in Rafah on social media], but this is not the Montreal anyone wants to live in.”

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau stated that he was “disgusted that another Jewish school has been the target of a shooting. Relieved that no one was hurt, but I’m thinking of the parents and community members in Montreal who must be incredibly shaken. This is antisemitism, plain and simple — and we will not let it win.”

Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre wrote, “the second shooting at a Jewish school in a week. We are witnessing a terrifying escalation of antisemitism in this country. The Trudeau government must step up and finally do something to protect Jewish people in Canada against this violence.”

Outremont MP Rachel Bendayan, who represents the area, posted, “four shots at a Jewish school on Hillsdale early Tuesday. I spoke with school administration, community leaders and the federal Minister of Public Safety. The police are investigating. This is the third shooting at a Jewish school in [the] Outremont [riding]. This has to stop.”

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said, “It is completely unacceptable that a Jewish school is once again targeted. Antisemitism has no place in Montreal. The SPVM is on the scene to investigate and I am confident that they will once again find the guilty person.”

The Jewish Community Council is “calling for a rapid and comprehensive response by the government of Canada, the Quebec government, and the City of Montreal so that Jewish Montrealers can once again feel safe walking to school, attending synagogue and going about their daily lives. The JCC has repeatedly called on governments to do more. But our voices have been ignored. We hope and pray that this latest attack serves as an alarm bell.”

B’nai Brith Canada said “such heinous crimes cannot be allowed to become normalized in Canada. We demand an immediate response from leaders at all levels of government. The incitement that has created an environment in which such diabolical acts can so readily occur must end and the safety and security of Canada’s Jewish communities must be ensured.”

Deborah Lyons, Canada’s Special Envoy for Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism, said “Canadian leaders at every level and across the spectrum must act, or ask themselves if this is the future they want for Canada.” n