Jewish community centre firebombed in Montreal, Trudeau decries ‘vile and hateful’ act

A Molotov cocktail was thrown into the entrance of the Jewish Community Council of Montreal

Canadian prime minister says continued acts of antisemitic violence are ‘deplorable and unacceptable’

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Scorch marks are shown at the entrance of the Jewish community centre. Photo: Canadian Press via AP

Published: 7:15am, 28 Nov 2023Updated: 9:19am, 28 Nov 2023

A Jewish community centre in Montreal was firebombed in the early hours of Monday – an act decried by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau as “vile and hateful” amid flaring tensions in Canada over the Israel-Gaza war.

A Molotov cocktail was thrown through the building’s front door shortly after midnight, coming on the heels of several shootings and another firebombing targeting Jewish schools and institutions in 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 antisemitism in our city is frightening and the repeated violence and attacks on our community are abhorrent and condemned in the strongest terms,” he added.

Trudeau said on X, formerly Twitter, the “continued acts of antisemitic violence are deplorable and unacceptable – and must stop immediately”.