An act of vandalism last month at a small synagogue in a Montreal suburb that B’nai Brith Canada described as “one of the worst such incidents to take place in Canada in years” was very likely not motivated by anti-Semitism, as was first thought.
After consulting with the Montreal police, two prominent Jewish community groups now say they don’t believe the synagogue was targeted for being a Jewish institution.
Part of the reason, Federation CJA and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs say, is that the small, home-based synagogue isn’t identified as such from the outside and is located only a few doors away from one of Côte-St-Luc’s largest synagogues.
“While it is painful and unacceptable to experience any sort of vandalism to a synagogue and to sacred objects, this criminal act appears to be a case of breaking and entering,” Federation CJA CEO Yair Szlak said in a statement.
“Damage inside a place of worship and to ritual items always tugs at our heartstrings, but we must be guided by the facts,” Szlak added.
“To date, there are no indications or telltale signs of a crime … motivated by anti-Semitism.”
A Federation CJA spokesperson told RCI Monday that damage inside the Sepharade Kol Yehouda synagogue Côte Saint-Luc was primarily limited to the kitchen and no damage was done in the synagogue’s sanctuary.
Initial reports said the synagogue had been ransacked, with sacred texts and other items strewn on the ground and put into the toilet.
The scene at the Congregation Sepharade Kol Yehouda last month. (Courtesy: B’nai Brith Brith Canada)
As well, anti-Semitic graffiti was scrawled on the walls, according to the man who was first to discover what he described as a “carnage.”
However, Montreal police inspectors and inspectors representing Federation CJA and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs found the graffiti to be a “meaningless collection of letters.”
The synagogue was closed at the time because of COVID-19 and the man, a member of the congregation, had gone to the building to retrieve religious items on the eve of the holiday of Shavuot, a celebration of the Jews receiving the Torah, especially the Ten Commandments.
Montreal police are continuing their investigation.
In April, B’nai Brith Canada released its Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents that showed that the number of incidents increased in 2019, for the fourth year in a row, averaging over six every day.
With files from CBC News
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