Joel Ceausu writing for ‘The Canadian Jewish News’ on 7th July 2026 claims that a series of ‘anti-Semitic hate crimes’ occurred in the Canadian city of Montreal on 3rd July 2026 where ‘innocent Hasidim’ – is any Hasid truly innocent? – were subjected to what I can only describe as pranks.
He writes how:
‘The Montreal police hate crimes unit (MICH) is investigating a series of alleged antisemitic attacks targeting members of the Hasidic community in Outremont on Friday night, July 3, after several men were harassed while walking home from Shabbat services, and three had their traditional fur hats, or shtreimels, snatched from their heads.
According to the Jewish Hasidic Council of Quebec (CJHQ), the incidents occurred between approximately 9:30 p.m. and 10 p.m. in what they described as “a deliberate spree of harassment” directed at visibly Jewish individuals.
The council said attackers drove through the neighbourhood in a coordinated manner, with one person driving while two others exited the vehicle to confront pedestrians before making a quick getaway. The victims were allegedly subjected to antisemitic slurs, had cans thrown at them, and—in the instance of one victim who uses a wheelchair—was reportedly spat upon, said community spokesperson Mayer Feig.
The borough of Outremont is home to more than 6,200 Jews, the second-largest Jewish population in the city of Montreal. The community makes up more than a quarter of residents, and largely comprises ultra-Orthodox Jews.
Several victims had their shtreimels forcibly taken, while another man’s hat was knocked off but not stolen. An attempted theft was captured on a security camera outside a Bernard Street business west of Parc Avenue, in the heart of the Hasidic community, and showed a man exiting a small car and approaching a Hasidic man from behind, attempting to snatch his hat from him. The victim resisted, and, after a brief confrontation, the suspect made taunting gestures and returned to the waiting vehicle which then drove away.
Chaverim Shomrim community security volunteers captured the license plate of the car.
Feig told The CJN that investigators are reviewing additional surveillance footage from the area that the community has chosen not to release publicly at this time, so as not to interfere with the ongoing police investigation.
The CJHQ however, said the attacks were “not a prank or a random act of mischief,” but rather “a serious and deliberate series of acts of harassment and intimidation directed at members of the Jewish community as they walked home from synagogue after Shabbat services.” The organization said every person “should be able to walk safely to and from their place of worship without fear of harassment or intimidation” and urged anyone with information to contact police.’ (1)
‘Arutz Sheva’ (aka Israeli Channel 7) reported similarly that:
‘The hate crimes unit of the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) has launched an investigation into a series of coordinated, targeted incidents against Hasidic Jewish residents in the Outremont and Mile-End areas on Friday evening, according to CityNews Montreal.
Details provided by the Council of Hasidic Jews of Quebec (CJHQ) indicate that multiple worshipers returning from synagogue following Shabbat services faced aggressive harassment from occupants of a vehicle cruising through the local streets.
“Victims were yelled at, subjected to antisemitic slurs, spat at, and had objects thrown at them,” the organization said in a statement posted on Facebook.
The CJHQ revealed that several victims had their traditional fur hats – known as shtreimels – snatched or struck off their heads during the altercations. Among those targeted was a mobility-impaired individual using a wheelchair.
Security camera footage released by the organization captures a motor vehicle stopping along a curb before an occupant steps out, approaches a pedestrian from behind on the sidewalk, attempts to tear the man’s shtreimel away while taunting him, and flees back to the waiting vehicle as it speeds off.
Strongly condemning the assault, the CJHQ emphasized, “This was not a prank or a random act of mischief.”
The series of attacks has drawn sharp condemnation across the political spectrum and from civic rights organizations. Outremont Mayor Caroline Braun characterized the actions as unacceptable, reflecting on recent local trends.
“For several months now, I have observed a disturbing rise in antisemitism in Montreal and Outremont,” Braun wrote on Facebook. “We have seen the emergence of hateful graffiti, acts of intimidation, violence, and hate speech that have no place in our city. This must stop.”
In response to the hostility, United Against Hate Canada issued an urgent plea for local authorities to bolster the SPVM’s specialized hate crimes division and requested direct oversight collaboration from the Public Security Commission.
“There needs to be rapid arrests for this latest manifestation of hate and the heaviest instruments in the Criminal Code need to be used against those arrested,” said Marvin Rotrand, director general of United Against Hate Canada, as quoted by CityNews.
Rotrand’s organization further called on Montreal Mayor Soraya Martinez Ferrada to institute a dedicated municipal task force aimed at countering antisemitism.
Meanwhile, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) characterized the events as “a horrific act of Jew hatred in Montreal… A month after the prime minister’s address, Canada’s antisemitism crisis continues as attacks targeting visibly Jewish Canadians spread across the country. Here’s what happens when antisemitism is normalized: A gratuitous, cowardly, and hateful attack against Hasidic Jews was carried out on Friday evening.”
The incidents came amid a sharp increase in acts of antisemitism in Canada in general and in Montreal in particular.’ (2)
Now the nub of this particular ‘anti-Semitic hate crime’ charge is that several men went around Montreal on the evening of Friday 3rd July knocking off the fur hats (shtreimels) of various Hasidim as well as stealing some of them and giving the wearers some choice words.
Now helpfully ‘The Canadian Jewish News’ provided some of the security camera footage of these events and while it is clear to see that the men – who are possibly Arab/North African in appearance – are going around knocking fur hats of the heads of the Hasidim. It is also clear that there is no evidence of an ‘anti-Semitic’ motive and the alleged ‘anti-Semitic comments’ claimed by the Hasidic victims of these crimes are merely hearsay and may or may not reflect what was said by the perpetrators.
In truth all the evidence presented so far actually proves is that men went around knocking off and stealing fur hats from strange men in fur hats and funny clothes who were out walking around Montreal at a time when it would not be remotely unlikely that these men were drunk or had at least had a few drinks after the work week had ended.
So thus, in the absence of evidence to the contrary this incident does not appear to be an ‘anti-Semitic hate crime’ at all but rather just drunk criminal pranks that targeted ‘men wearing funny clothing’ in Montreal who just happened to be Hasidim but could easily just have been Catholic nuns.
References
(1) https://thecjn.ca/news/montreal-hasidic-jews-targeted-and-harassed-in-friday-night-attack/
(2) https://www.israelnationalnews.com/news/429871
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