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Suspected arson destroys Montreal kosher restaurant as police investigate

Police said someone was reportedly seen leaving the premises shortly after the fire began.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Montreal police are investigating a suspected arson that heavily damaged a kosher restaurant and another business in the city’s Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood early Saturday, after evidence at the scene indicated the fire was deliberately set.

The Montreal Police Service (SPVM) said a 911 call was received at about 3:15 a.m. reporting a fire near the intersection of Décarie Boulevard and Plamondon Avenue.

Firefighters battled the blaze for several hours before bringing it under control, SPVM spokesperson Raphaël Bergeron said.

The building housing Nöam, a kosher restaurant, and another business sustained major damage.

Police said someone was reportedly seen leaving the premises shortly after the fire began.

Bergeron said that information prompted authorities to transfer the investigation to the SPVM arson squad.

Investigators were expected to examine the scene, review surveillance footage and interview the restaurant owners to determine whether they had received any threats before the fire. Police said evidence recovered at the site points to arson.

The investigation comes after several antisemitic arson attacks targeting Jewish institutions in the Montreal area in recent years.

In June 2026, authorities arrested 38-year-old Steven Luu after he allegedly smashed a window and attempted to start a fire inside Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom, a Reform synagogue in Westmount.

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Congregation Beth Tikvah, a synagogue in Montreal’s West Island, was also targeted in two separate Molotov cocktail attacks in late 2024.

In June 2026, Mohamed Ilyess Akodad, 20, pleaded guilty in connection with those firebombings. Court proceedings revealed he had been hired for $15,000 to carry out the attack.

No arrests have been announced in connection with Saturday’s fire.

The SPVM arson squad continues to investigate the blaze at Nöam and the adjacent business as officers work to identify the individual seen leaving the area shortly after the fire began and determine whether the businesses had been threatened before the incident.