Montreal stabbing of Orthodox Jewish man may have been work-related conflict: police
WARNING: Video containing graphic violence below
A 24-year-old Orthodox Jewish man was stabbed Thursday in Montreal's Saint-Michel neighbourhood.
Montreal police (SPVM) said it's possible the stabbing was a work-related conflict, as the victim and suspect are coworkers.
In a video circulating on social media Friday, a man wearing a kippah and prayer shawl (tallit) is seen standing outside a door, with one leg resting on a knee scooter. A man dressed in black then emerges from the door and appears to stab the victim in the face or neck.
According to the SPVM, the stabbing occurred around 1:30 p.m. The victim was transported to hospital but is in stable condition.
The 21-year-old suspect, Mouloud Machouche, was arrested and appeared in court Friday. He is facing charges of assault and use or threat of using a weapon.
Jewish service organization B'nai Brith confirmed the victim is an Orthodox Jewish man. The group has spoken to police and is monitoring the file.
ANXIETY WITHIN JEWISH COMMUNITY
Marvin Rotrand is a former Montreal city councillor and the director of B'nai Brith Canada.
He said while it's unclear whether the victim was targeted because of his faith, incidents like these nevertheless instill fear in the Jewish community.
"All these things add up, and people get very, very worried."
The community is especially on edge, he said, given that hate crimes against Jews have reportedly risen in previous years.
A B'nai Birth audit found 2021 was Canada's highest year of antisemitic incidents since the organization began recording this data in 1982.
"Last year, in our own auditing, we recorded 75 violent incidents against Jews in Canada. And that was a greater number than the five years previous," said Rotrand.
To move forward, Rotrand said police and civil servants must have a "better understanding" of what antisemitism looks like.
He also called on Canada to update its laws regarding online hate by obliging platforms to remove hateful content.
"We think the tools are there, but it's going to take regulation and legislation from the government of Canada."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.