Montreal police report 36 hate crimes and incidents since beginning of Israel-Hamas war

While protests held in Montreal since the Israel-Hamas war broke out have been largely peaceful, tensions are still high and have led to 36 hate crimes and hate-motivated incidents, according to Montreal police.

Police said the reports involved incidents targeting Jewish and Muslim communities following the start of the war on Oct. 7.

Between then and the morning of Oct. 18, there have been 12 hate crimes and 13 hate incidents against the Jewish community reported to police. During that same 12-day period, a total of four hate crimes and seven hate incidents targeted the "Arab-Muslim" community.

Police said in a statement Friday that they are monitoring events in Montreal related to the ongoing conflict.

"Although they are geographically distant from us, we are aware of their impact on the sense of security of the population, and particularly of the communities involved in the said conflict. To this end, we have taken measures such as implementing a visibility plan around places of worship and other places of interest," the statement read.

The Canadian Muslim Forum shared a video on X, formerly known as Twitter, showing a Nazi symbol and the words "Kill all Musulman bastard" spray painted on a wall near the Badr Islamic Centre in the Saint-Leonard borough. 

Montreal police chief Fady Dagher told CTV News that officers from various police stations are meeting regularly with community leaders. 

"The tension's not only high but the anxiety also. It's extremely high for both sides," Montreal police chief Fady Dagher told CTV News.

Despite the tense atmosphere, the demonstrations led by Jewish and Palestinian groups in Montreal have been positive from a policing standpoint.

"I don't want my police to go inside the crowd and use our force. It never looks nice to see police officers using force on demonstrators," he said.

"For us, it's how the community can engage with us by using their own people to some mediation with the youth and make sure that we're going to be able to keep the peace during the demonstration. [So far], I have to be honest, it worked really well."

The tensions have also spilled over into university campuses.

The National Council of Canadian Muslims told CTV News on Thursday that her organization has been getting more calls from Muslim students who feel unsafe on university campuses across Canada.

One tense interaction, this one against Israel, was shared on social media this week at McGill University after a security guard was filmed ripping up posters of missing Israeli citizens.