Historic Montreal synagogue vandalized with swastikas

B’nai Brith Canada called the attack a ‘cowardly act and an insult to Canadian morals and values,’ demanding better protection for houses of worship

By Jewish Breaking News

Montreal’s historic synagogue Emanu-El-Beth Sholom was found vandalized over the weekend, but it wasn’t the swastikas that hurt the most.

It was the silence that followed.

“I don’t think this is the kind of thing that the silent majority sanctions,” Rabbi Lisa Grushcow tells CTV News. “What I’m hoping is that the silent majority will get a little less silent.”

Watching antisemitic incidents pile up across the city, Rabbi Grushcow had been bracing for something like this for a while.

“We’ve seen just this atrocious spike in antisemitism. We’ve seen, you know, schools shot at. We’ve seen Molotov cocktails thrown at synagogues. We’ve seen antisemitic graffiti, really, all over the city and beyond. And so unfortunately, it really wasn’t surprising,” she said.

Mayor Valerie Plante called the vandalism found on Saturday “unacceptable” and said police were investigating.

“Such attacks are unacceptable in our metropolis, and I can assure Rabbi Lisa Grushcow that the SPVM is investigating,” she wrote on X. “We must all unite and denounce all forms of anti-Semitism.”

B’nai Brith Canada called the attack a “cowardly act and an insult to Canadian morals and values,” demanding better protection for houses of worship. But for many in Montreal’s Jewish community, official condemnations aren’t enough anymore.

Since the outbreak of Israel’s defensive war against Hamas, Jews in the streets of Montreal and across the world, have been the targets of an unprecedented rise in antisemitic violence, harassment and threats.

Most recently, a fire was set at a West Island synagogue in December.

Despite making up just 1.4% of Canada’s population, Jewish people and institutions were targeted in 70% of religious hate crimes in 2024, according to data from the Ministry of Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism.