Montreal police’s (SPVM) hate crimes division is investigating incidents in which Hasidic Jewish men were allegedly targeted Friday night in Outremont and Mile-End neighbourhoods.
According to the Jewish Hasidic Council of Quebec (CJHQ), several men who were returning home from a synagogue after Shabbat services were allegedly harassed by individuals driving around the neighbourhood.
“Victims were yelled at, subjected to antisemitic slurs, spat at, and had objects thrown at them,” the organization said in a statement posted on Facebook.
CJHQ says several individuals had their traditional fur hats stolen or knocked off. Among the victims was a person with a physical disability who uses a wheelchair.
A security camera video shared by the organization appeared to show a car pulling up next to a curb. A man then gets out of the car and attempts to grab the shtreimel off a man walking on the side walk from behind and taunting him before running back to the car which drives off.
CJHQ denounced the incidents as hateful act. “This was not a prank or a random act of mischief.”
The incidents also drew strong reactions from community organizations and political leaders.
Outremont Mayor Caroline Braun also condemned the incidents as unacceptable.
“For several months now, I have observed a disturbing rise in antisemitism in Montreal and Outremont,” Braun wrote on Facebook. “We have seen the emergence of hateful graffiti, acts of intimidation, violence, and hate speech that have no place in our city. This must stop.”
In a statement, United Against Hate Canada called for an expansion of SPVM’s hate crimes unit and for the Public Security Commission to work with the police.
“There needs to be rapid arrests for this latest manifestation of hate and the heaviest instruments in the Criminal Code need to be used against those arrested,” said Marvin Rotrand, director general of United Against Hate Canada.
It also called on Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada to create a task force on antisemitism.
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