2023-11-11 15:16:43
Montreal has been the scene for several days of events whose rapid succession is “extremely worrying », alerts the mayor of the Quebec metropolis, Valérie Plante. Facts which echo the war raging between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The councilor said she was horrified, Thursday, November 9, by the gunshots which targeted two Montreal Jewish schools the previous night. The day before, Molotov cocktails were thrown against the Beth Tikvah synagogue and its adjacent building, belonging to an association which represents the Jews of Greater Montreal.
In all, from October 7 to November 7, Montreal police counted 73 hate incidents or crimes against the Jewish community – 25 against “Arab-Muslim communities” – more than the total crimes and incidents against all religions last year. Due to the excitement, the police are increasing their numbers around places of worship.
Tensions on campus
The conflict taking place thousands of kilometers away also has repercussions in Montreal universities. Jewish and pro-Palestinian students clashed with fists on the downtown Concordia University campus on Wednesday until security guards and police separated them. Three people were injured and a student was arrested, accused of assaulting a security guard.
Swastikas were also found on university grounds. Finally, a student group posted on social media “a message that could reasonably be interpreted as incitement to violence”according to the rector, who said “ saddened » et “disgusted”. On another campus, that of the University of Quebec in Montreal, hateful leaflets are circulating, targeting professors in particular.
This escalation could not be avoided by the federal and provincial prime ministers, Justin Trudeau and François Legault, gathered Thursday morning for an announcement concerning housing. The two men spoke with one voice. “I understand that we see horrible scenes on television, but we must (..) be able to speak calmly, so I appeal to all Quebecers for calm », Thundered the Prime Minister of Quebec François Legault, who does not rule out banning demonstrations linked to the conflict. Justin Trudeau spoke of the impact of the situation on the mental health of the population.
Fear of bringing your child to school
For Eta Yudin, vice-president of the Advisory Center for Jewish and Israeli Relations, this series of attacks is the result of anti-Semitic discourse that she senses rising in the public space in recent weeks. “Since the massacre of October 7, we have been in a state of shock and we have seen hatred spreading in the streets of Montreal. We were afraid that there would be acts like that, we say it and we repeat it and there we see them. »
Frightened, she does not want to give in to panic. “The police chief tells us to continue to have normal lives. We are not going to hide, our community has been there for over 200 years. But people call me, they are afraid, they ask me if it is safe to go to school with their children. » The words of the prime ministers on Thursday, however, reassured her. “I know that what is happening at the moment is not the Quebec that I know. »
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