Kosher Restaurant Burned Down in Apparent Arson Attack in Montreal
The incident has U.S. officials sounding the alarm.
A popular kosher restaurant was burned down in Montreal this weekend in what is believed to be an arson attack.
Firefighters were called to Décarie Boulevard between Plamondon Avenue and Vézina Street, where Nöam restaurant is located, at 3:15 a.m. on Saturday, August 1.
Nöam is a kosher restaurant serving Mediterranean, Italian, and international cuisine. It opened in 2024.
In a statement posted on social media Sunday afternoon, Nöam said its owners and staff were “still in shock and trying to understand how this could have happened.”
“At this time, we do not know the motive, and we do not want to speculate or draw conclusions before the investigation is complete,” said the statement, signed by Ynon Cohen, Meir Azerad and the “entire Nöam family.”
“Our hearts are broken,” the restaurant’s statement said. “We poured everything we had into creating this place. Seeing it destroyed is heartbreaking.”
Apparent Arson
Police spokesperson Raphaël Bergeron told the Montreal Gazette that someone was seen leaving the premises shortly after the incident. Footage has also emerged that allegedly shows someone setting a fire in front of the business.
U.S. Sounds Alarm
At the time of publication, neither Liberal Prime Minister Mark Carney, Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre, NDP Leader Avi Lewis, nor Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet had commented on the incident on the social media platform X.
American officials have, however, commented on the incident.
U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra posted on X: “While the investigation proceeds, Canada’s leaders should actively work to protect and bolster the Jewish community."
Democratic Illinois Congressman Brad Schneider, co-chair of the Congressional Jewish Caucus, said he and his colleagues “are disgusted and outraged” by what he described as “yet another heinous attack on Jewish-owned business.”
“As antisemitism is increasingly normalized, violence and other attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions continue to escalate around the world,” he wrote on X. “This is a moment of crisis that requires all people of good conscience to speak up and condemn hate.”
Canadian Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, meanwhile, said the incident must be investigated as a hate crime.
Canadas Antisemitism crisis
The incident comes amidst the country seeing a crisis of antisemitism.
Last week in Toronto, two Jewish-owned bakery stores were hit by gunfire and vandalism.
Also this year, there has also been a shooting at the Temple Emanu-El synagogue in Toronto. There have been shootings at the Beth Avraham Yoseph synagogue in Thornhill and at the Shaarei Shomayim in Toronto.
Canada has seen a 124.6 percent increase in antisemitic incidents from 2022 to 2024, according to Jewish human rights organization B’nai Brith Canada. Canada’s Jews make up 0.9 percent of the population but are the victims of 70 percent of religious hate crimes.
According to a survey conducted by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), 82 percent of Canadian Jews feel less safe in their country post–October 7.