Jewish residents endangered by shootings in Montreal

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The Azrieli Talmud Torah Jewish school in Montreal is one of two Jewish establishments to have been targeted by projectiles on Wednesday night on Thursday. (Archive photo)

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• Jérôme Labbé (View profile)Jérôme Labbé

Young adults were spending the night at the Azrieli Talmud Torah Jewish school in Montreal when gunshots were fired in the direction of #x27;establishment this week, Radio-Canada learned.

These residents were sleeping soundly in a section of the building located at the rear when the shots rang out. None of them were aware of the crime. No one was therefore injured or treated for nervous shock.

The news, which was confirmed by the City Police Department de Montréal (SPVM), has raised its share of concerns within the government as well as in the police, according to our information.

Located on Saint-Kevin Avenue, the Azrieli Talmud Torah school in Montreal is one of two Jewish establishments in the Côte-des-Neiges–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough to have been targeted by projectiles during the night from Wednesday to Thursday. The other, Yeshiva Gedola, is located on Deacon Road, near Outremont. a widespread practice in Jewish schools in Montreal, which often welcome students from outside Canada.

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The Azrieli Talmud Torah school in Montreal is located on avenue Saint-Kevin, in the borough of Côte-des- Snows–Notre-Dame-de-Grâce. (File photo)

The board of directors of Yeshiva Gedola, for its part, sent a statement to the media on Friday to react to the shots allegedly fired around 4:30 a.m. Thursday by an unknown assailant.

Fortunately, no students and staff or passers-by were nearby at the time and damage was limited to the structure of the building, he said.

The events of recent days were quickly denounced by the Montreal, Quebec and Canadian political class. Prime Ministers Justin Trudeau and François Legault, as well as Mayor Valérie Plante, all described these acts as unacceptable on Thursday.

To take stock of the tensions arising from the resumption of violence in the Middle East, the Minister of Public Security, François Bonnardel, met by videoconference with leaders of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) and the SPVM on Friday morning.

The meeting of approximately one hour took place with the deputy director general of the SQ, Ronald Boudreault, and the deputy director of the SPVM, Vincent Richer .

No directives were given by the minister to the province's police forces, the cabinet said. Rather, the meeting served to learn about the approach and strategy of the SQ and the SPVM in order to prevent an escalation of hate crimes and incidents.

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François Bonnardel is concerned about the rise in tensions in Montreal linked to the Hamas-Israel war. (File photo)

Mr. Bonnardel would also have obtained a guarantee that the police services would remain in contact with the Arab-Muslim and Jewish communities to reassure them.

He x27;There is no threat as such in Montreal, he assured at the end of the day on the show Le 15-18, on ICI Première. Montreal is safe. People can go out, […] there is no danger.

The war between Hamas and Israel is generating tensions all over the world, and Montreal is not immune to the phenomenon. Clashes between students broke out this week at Concordia University.

In an interview Friday at All a morning , Vincent Richer indicated that the SPVM had noted an increase in crimes and hate incidents in the metropolis in recent weeks.

He invited Montrealers to report them to 911 or to their local station to allow the police to intervene, but also to intervene; have a fair portrait of the situation.

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Hate crimes and incidents have increased significantly on the island of Montreal since the start of the war between Hamas and Israel on October 7.

The SPVM has developed a visibility plan in order to contain the tensions that could resurface in the coming days, said Mr. Richer at Patrick Masbourian's microphone. More sensitive places, such as schools and places of worship, have been identified and will benefit from increased surveillance.

The commissioner for the fight against racism in Montreal, Bochra Manaï, also affirmed Friday that the Islamophobic and anti-Semitic acts and behaviors that have been committed in recent weeks in Montreal [were] all unacceptable and that the violence must be strongly condemned.

It is necessary not to give in to division, to prioritize respect and to keep the focus [sic] on our collective priorities, on what unites us and defines us as Montrealers, she argued in a statement. written transmitted to Radio-Canada.

Ms. Manaï, whose silence was highlighted this week on social networks, also made a point of recalling in her message that [her] role at the City of Montreal [was] aimed at internal change and that [she did not] have a role of public representation.

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