Montreal police investigating after ‘Molotov cocktail’ thrown at Jewish centre

Montreal police are investigating after an incendiary object was allegedly thrown against the door of a Jewish community centre early this morning.

The Jewish Community Council says its building in the Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood was hit with a Molotov cocktail.

Montreal police media relations officer Julien Lévesque says emergency responders were called at about 1 a.m. to a building whose location matches that of the Jewish Community Council of Montreal.

Lévesque says firefighters transferred the investigation to the police’s arson squad, adding that no one was injured and there was only minor damage to the building.

The executive director of the Jewish Community Council issued a statement condemning what he described as a frightening rise in antisemitism and the recent crimes targeting Montreal Jewish institutions since the deadly Hamas attack on Oct. 7 in Israel.

Previous incidents in the city include firebombings that caused minor damage at a synagogue and a Jewish organization, as well as gunshots hitting two Jewish school buildings.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 27, 2023.