The person arrested in connection with an assault in May on a Montreal man carrying an Israeli flag is a minor and his identity will not be released, police said on July 20. They are not looking for any other suspects in the incident.

A 15-year-old was released and will appear in youth court at a later date.

B’nai Brith Canada expressed gratitude to the police for making the arrest.

“B’nai Brith Canada and the Jewish community are breathing sighs of relief that the Montreal police force worked diligently on this appalling incident and have made an arrest,” said Marvin Rotrand, national director of the organization’s League for Human Rights. “It is absolutely unacceptable for anyone to be attacked on the streets of Montreal or anywhere merely because they are expressing their pride in Israel.”

“This assault shocked the Jewish community, causing a great sense of unease,” said B’nai Brith CEO Michael Mostyn. “Sadly, anti-Zionism is the new driver of antisemitism. Quebec and other provinces must invest more in education to address these issues.”

Montreal police made 15 arrests in May 2021 in connection with the violent disruption of a pro-Israel rally downtown, Mostyn said. The cases are still before the courts.

Several days later two individuals were arrested in Côte St. Luc where they were driving around and threatening Jews. These cases also remain before the courts, he said.

Rotrand added, “The Jewish community wants to see the province, city and police allocate the resources to ensure that there is no repeat of 2021’s explosion of antisemitic incidents.”

Numerous violent antisemitic incidents were reported across Canada in May 2021, during Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza.

The B’nai Brith annual audit for 2021 showed there were more reported antisemitic incidents in Quebec than any other province, even the much more populous Ontario.