Montreal police are investigating after a fire heavily damaged a kosher restaurant overnight Saturday in the city’s Côte-des-Neiges—Notre-Dame-de-Grâce borough.
Police said the case is being investigated as arson and that all hypotheses remain on the table, but investigators have not determined a motive and are not treating it as a hate crime at this stage.
The fire caused extensive damage to Nöam, a kosher restaurant on Decarie Boulevard, an area with a large Jewish community.
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Montreal’s fire department said nearly 80 firefighters responded to the two-alarm blaze near the intersection of Plamondon Avenue and Vézina Street at about 3 a.m.
Photos shared on social media showed the restaurant heavily damaged after the blaze gutted much of the building.
Despite the lack of an established motive, social media was flooded with expressions of concern that the fire was a hate-motivated attack targeting Montreal’s Jewish community.
Public Safety Minister Gary Anandasangaree said on social media the federal government was concerned by what appeared to be an arson attack at a gathering place for Montreal’s Jewish community.
“Antisemitism simply has no place in our society and we must do everything we can to eradicate it wherever it manifests,” he said in his post.
B’nai Brith Canada, a Jewish advocacy organization, also condemned the fire and called for action.
“Jewish Canadians have heard enough condemnation and promises,” it said in a statement posted on social media. “Now we need action.”