An arson attack targets a Montreal synagogue and a nearby Jewish office building is damaged

MONTREAL -- A synagogue in a Montreal suburb was targeted in what police suspect was an arson attack early Wednesday, the second time the building in this Canadian city was hit by an incendiary device in little more than a year.

Police said a nearby Jewish office building was apparently also targeted Wednesday, though it was unclear if the two attacks were linked.

Montreal police received a 911 call shortly before 3 a.m. about a fire at the Congregation Beth Tikvah on the island suburb of Dollard-des-Ormeaux, police spokesperson Véronique Dubuc said.

Firefighters extinguished the blaze and found an incendiary device at the scene, she said. A window of the synagogue was smashed and a door was damaged.

“Witnesses told us that they saw one suspect that was leaving rapidly shortly after the fire started,” she said, adding that the building was damaged by smoke but the overall consequences of the fire were minor.

No injuries were reported and there have been no arrests in the case, Dubuc said, adding that police have not yet determined whether the fire was a hate crime.

A few hours later, officers at the scene of the fire noticed a similarly smashed window and a damaged glass door at a nearby building belonging to the West Island office of the Federation CJA, a building frequented by the city’s Jewish community.

Dubuc said no incendiary device was found at the second location. Police are investigating a possible link between the two incidents, she said.

The same synagogue and the CJA building were targeted by arson in November 2023, causing minor damage to the synagogue’s front door and the back door of the CJA office. No one was injured in those attacks and police have not made arrests in that case.

Jewish groups and politicians condemned the targeting of the Jewish institutions on Wednesday.

“This vile antisemitic attack against Montreal’s Jewish community is cowardly and criminal,” Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on X.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog denounced the attack and called "on the Canadian government to act decisively, and show that such hatred will not be tolerated.”