Montreal Jewish school hit by gunfire in second such attack in Canada within days
Police say at least one bullet hit Orthodox yeshiva less than week after two masked suspects opened fire at Chabad girls’ school in Toronto; no injuries in either incident
Gunfire hit a Jewish school in Montreal, the second such attack on a Jewish school in Canada in recent days.
On Wednesday, police discovered that at least one bullet had hit the Belz Yeshiva Ketana at the Young Israel of Montreal synagogue in the city’s Cote-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grace neighborhood. They believe the shooting at the Orthodox school occurred before Wednesday, The Montreal Gazette reported.
The shooting comes less than a week after two masked suspects emerged from a vehicle early on Saturday morning and fired multiple shots at Bais Chaya Mushka, a Chabad girls’ school in Toronto. It also comes days after a man was charged in a similar shooting at another Montreal Jewish school, Yeshiva Gedola, in November.
No one was injured in the shootings, but Canadian Jewish leaders and political officials said the pattern was alarming.
“We have had enough. Yet another Jewish school was shot at in the middle of the night – in Canada,” said a statement jointly released Thursday by Montreal’s Federation-CJA and Canada’s Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. “Thankfully no one was inside the building, but this violent hatred must no longer be tolerated.”
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau joined municipal and provincial figures in condemning the attack.
Disgusted that another Jewish school has been the target of a shooting. Relieved that no one was hurt, but I’m thinking of the parents and community members in Montreal who must be incredibly shaken.
This is antisemitism, plain and simple — and we will not let it win.
— Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) May 30, 2024
“Disgusted that another Jewish school has been the target of a shooting,” he said on X. “Relieved that no one was hurt, but I’m thinking of the parents and community members in Montreal who must be incredibly shaken. This is antisemitism, plain and simple — and we will not let it win.”
Several countries around the world, notably in Europe, have seen attacks on Jewish targets amid the grinding Israeli offensive in Gaza in response to the bloody October 7 massacre by Hamas terrorists.
War broke out on October 7 between Israel and Hamas when Hamas terrorists infiltrated Israel, killing some 1,200 people and kidnapping 252 while committing widespread atrocities and sexual assaults.
The Hamas-run Gaza health ministry says more than 36,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though only some 22,000 fatalities have been identified at hospitals. The figures, which have not been verified, include some 15,000 terror operatives Israel says it has killed in battle. Israel also says it killed some 1,000 terrorists inside Israel on October 7.
Two hundred and ninety-two soldiers have been killed during the ground offensive against Hamas and amid operations along the Gaza border. A civilian Defense Ministry contractor has also been killed in the Strip.
Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
