Montreal synagogue spray painted with swastikas
This article contains images of swastikas spraypainted on a synagogue.
Montreal police (SPVM) say its hate crimes division is investigating after a synagogue in the Plateau-Mont-Royal neighbourhood was defaced with antisemitic graffiti.
Swastikas were spray painted on Bagg Street Shul sometime over the weekend, said synagogue president Michael Kaplan on Tuesday.
Kaplan says it’s the first time he’s seen something like this in his 15-year history with the synagogue on Clark Street, though he does not see it as a sign of rising antisemitism.
Photos of the graffiti circulated widely on social media.
Marvin Rotrand, former Montreal councillor and national director of B’nai Brith’s league for human rights. sent a letter to the city, calling for more action against antisemitism.
"While the congregation is small, the synagogue evokes Jewish history in Montreal and the attack on it causes dismay in the community," the letter reads.
He urged city council to publicly denounce the vandalism and mark the upcoming Yom Hashoah, or Holocaust Remembrance Day.
"We recommend a declaration to mark Yom Hashoah be inscribed on the April 18 City Council meeting. We also propose that the practice introduced by Mayor Gerald Tremblay of inviting the Jewish community to City Hall so that the names of victims of the Holocaust be read be reinstated."
The synagogue Bagg Street Shul in Montreal was defaced with swastikas in March 2023. (CTV News)
In a tweet, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs says it has "reported the incident to law enforcement and will continue working with them to ensure the safety and security of the Jewish community."
Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante expressed her support for the city's Jewish community, adding that there's no place in Montreal for discrimination and racism. Plante said the city is working hard to ensure everyone's safety.
With files form the Canadian Press
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
1 arrested in northern Alberta during public shelter order
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
First in Canada procedure performed at London, Ont. hospital
A London man has become the first person in Canada to receive a robotic assisted surgery on his spine. Dave Myeh suffered from debilitating, chronic back pain that led to sciatica in his right now and extreme pain in his lower back.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.