Montreal police say they are investigating after a swastika was painted on the side of a local synagogue.
The incident happened at the Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom, which is the third-oldest synagogue in Montreal. The place of worship has been in the City of Westmount since 1911 but its origins in the city date back to 1882.
Rabbi Lisa Grushcow told CTV News that members noticed the building was vandalized Saturday morning and, for her, it “felt like not a matter of if this would happen, but when this would happen.”
“We’ve seen just this atrocious spike in antisemitism. We’ve seen, you know, schools shot at. We’ve seen Molotov cocktails thrown at synagogues. We’ve seen antisemitic graffiti, really, all over the city and beyond. And so unfortunately, it really wasn’t surprising,” she said in an interview.
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Grushcow wrote in a notice to members that she wouldn’t broadcast images of the swastika, which was swiftly removed, “as antisemitism is already sufficiently present in our media.”
In a video shared on the synagogue’s Facebook account, she urged Montrealers to take the opportunity to build bridges with the Jewish community by reaching out to Jewish friends and neighbours, visiting a Holocaust museum, to speak out against anti-Jewish jokes or comments, and to be an ally to the Jewish community.
“See if your local synagogue would welcome your presence at services — and, if you go, pay attention to the security precautions we have to take. Tell us you’ve come to show support. Come see what we love about Jewish life,” she said.
Montreal MP Anthony Housefather was among the people who condemned the vandalism on Sunday. In a post on X, he wrote it was “revolting” to see this kind of hate in 2025.
Temple Emanuel-El has been in Westmount since 1911. It is revolting to see antisemitic graffiti in 2025. Today Rabbi Lisa asked me to amplify her message asking non Jews to speak out. So I ask everyone reading this to speak out & make clear their commitment to fight antisemitism. https://t.co/QhVC0zGIev
— Anthony Housefather (@AHousefather) February 16, 2025
Grushcow said she appreciates his words of support but also expressed her desire to see more non-Jewish people show solidarity.
“I’m happy for everybody’s voice, but we need people — as with any form of hate — we need people who are not the targeted minority to be saying, ‘Wait a minute, this isn’t OK. This isn’t how I want my city to be, and something is wrong,” she told CTV News.
“Something is wrong that Montreal got this reputation now around the world for antisemitism, and it’s not mistaken. The numbers are there to back it up. So we need to figure out how we shift who we are and what we’re doing, because it’s not enough to just say, ‘Oh, Canadians aren’t like this, or Montrealers aren’t like this. I don’t think the majority are, but unless people who are quiet speak up, that’s what it feels like, and we want to change that.”
Mayor Valérie Plante said on X that she recently had visited the Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom.
“Such attacks are unacceptable in our metropolis and I can assure Rabbi Lisa Grushcow that the SPVM is investigating,” she said in her post. “We must all unite and denounce all forms of anti-Semitism.”
Un symbole antisémite (swastika) a été retrouvé peint hier sur le mur de la synagogue Emanu-El-Beth Sholom. J’ai eu le plaisir de visiter cette synagogue récemment. De telles attaques sont inacceptables dans notre métropole et je peux assurer à la rabbin, Lisa Grushcow, que le…
— Valérie Plante (@Val_Plante) February 16, 2025
