MONTREAL — The executive director of Congrégation Sépharade Beth Rambam in Cote St. Luc thinks there’s “definitely” a connection between the vandalism at his and two other nearby synagogues the night of Sept. 24-25 and a similar incident 10 days earlier in St. Laurent.
Rabbi Reuben Poupko
It “seemed organized,” Guy Hadad said. “It is upsetting and worrying.”
At Beth Rambam, a front entrance pane of glass was shattered, as was one at Beth Israel Beth Aaron Congregation a few minutes away and at nearby Congrégation Or Hahayim, all apparently within a 20-minute span.
On Sept. 14, vandals broke two windows at Petah Tikva synagogue in St. Laurent.
In Cote St. Luc, Beth Israel appears to have been the first hit at 11:46 p.m., the synagogue’s spiritual leader, Rabbi Reuben Poupko, said, followed by Beth Rambam eight minutes later and Or Hahayim a few minutes after that, leading police to believe that the vandalism was committed by the same person or persons.
“We can assume that,” said Cmdr. Sylvain Bissonette of police station 9 in Cote St. Luc. “It was all the same modus operandi.”
Hadad said a window at Beth Rambam “exploded” at exactly “12:03:23” a.m. on Sept. 25 at his Westminster Avenue synagogue, according to a video from a surveillance camera that monitors the front entrance.
“We see a car arrive,” he said, “and two or three seconds later, we see the window explode.”
Hadad is convinced a special tool that “punches” glass to break it was used, but Bissonette said individual projectiles – rocks – were recovered from all three synagogues.
Bissonette said none of the synagogues was actually entered, nor was any other property damaged or stolen.
Rabbi Poupko, who co-chairs Federation CJA’s community security co-ordinating committee, said police responded promptly.
As well, he said, they “delivered on their promise that there would be extra patrols around Yom Kippur [a few days later].”
“Obviously, people are disturbed by it,” Rabbi Poupko added. “These are cowards who under the cover of darkness throw stones at buildings… insignificant people who do significant damage.
“It is certainly disturbing that houses of worship would be targeted during the holiest week of the Jewish calendar.”
According to Bissonette, all three synagogues had surveillance cameras, but because of the nighttime conditions, the images from them were obscure. “We saw a form, but didn’t recognize anyone,” he said.
In all three cases, congregants arriving for morning prayers on Sept. 25 discovered the broken glass.
Moshe Ben-Shach, the director of operations at Federation CJA in charge of the security at community institutions, visited the three shuls the day after the vandalism and has been consulting with police. He said the community is working “very closely” with authorities on the case.
On Sept. 25, Ben-Shach’s office issued a community security alert to synagogue and Jewish institutional and school administrators, noting that “video footage” had been “collected and secured.”
“The police have assured us that the investigation of these incidents will be pursued promptly,” the alert said. “Local police… as well as municipal public security services were briefed and they will increase their vigilance and patrols during the coming high holidays around all Jewish institutions.”
Bissonette told The CJN that even under normal circumstances, security is bolstered and surveillance increased around Jewish institutions during the High Holiday period.
Despite the absence of swastikas or other markings, Rabbi Poupko said he believed the attacks were more than just vandalism.
“Generally speaking, no matter what we feel in our gut and intuitively, we’re reluctant to declare it anti-Semitic unless it’s accompanied by graffiti,” he said.
“However, when three synagogues are targeted in the same night, and those are the only buildings that are targeted, that certainly paints the picture for itself.”
In St. Laurent, Petah Tikvah’s executive director Simone Felece felt the attack on her synagogue was mere vandalism, but president Nissim Amar said he believed there could be more sinister motives behind it.
“There were other buildings 50 yards away. Why did they break only [our windows]?” Amar asked.
In an apparently unrelated incident, Michael Crelinsten, executive director of the YM-YWHA Ben Weider JCC, confirmed that a broken window was discovered “three or four weeks back” at the entrance to the Y’s George Reinitz Wrestling Centre on Mountain Sights Avenue.
Police were also notified about that incident, Crelinsten said, but whoever did it “left no graffiti, nothing.”
