A brazen Israeli flag burning outside a Jewish school has shocked the Montreal community
Montreal Police announced they have arrested a 16-year-old suspect in relation to the removal and burning of Israeli flags that were hanging outside a Jewish day school on April 26, Yom ha-Atzmaut. Police had said the incident was being investigated as a hate crime. One young man was seen clearly in a 34-second online video […]
Photo exhibition of Hasidim aims to build bridges in Montreal and recover Polish Jewish past
Mayer Feig held up an old black-and-white photo. It was of his paternal grandparents and their three children taken in prewar Poland. Only his grandfather would survive the near-annihilation of the Jews in that country. Feig, a member of the Quebec Council of Hasidic Jews, showed the picture at the opening of an exhibition of […]
Suspect turns himself in to Montreal police in connection with assaults on two Hasidic men
The suspect in assaults on two Hasidic men in Montreal this winter turned himself in on April 20, a day after police released a photo of his face and video of the alleged incident. The minor is accused of attacking the two men the evening of Jan. 20 on the street in Outremont, home of […]
A Holocaust survivor’s story is finally told by her grandson in Montreal musician Roger White’s avant-garde show, ‘Because You Never Asked’
Roger White got his start in Montreal’s underground music scene, and he bears the tattoos from bands like Dead Messenger and Rhythm Mercenaries to prove it. White is 42 now and his artistic expression has matured, along with a deeper understanding of his obscured Jewish heritage. He was almost 20 when he became aware that […]
Montreal seders were dark and cold after an ice storm caused widespread power outages
On Wednesday afternoon, hours before the first seder of Passover, the power started to go out in homes across Montreal. “We knew the weather was going to be all over the place for Pesach but I didn’t really check the specifics,” said Mettannah Jacobson, a Montreal resident. There was an ice storm on Wednesday morning […]
Multicultural community representatives in Montreal denounced the desecration of the Bagg Street Shul as part of a show of solidarity
Representatives from several minority communities gathered in a show of solidarity with the Jewish community, just before the start of Passover, at the historic Bagg Street Shul which was desecrated by Nazi graffiti. They joined B’nai Brith Canada in demanding that Montreal do more to combat antisemitism and all forms of racism. “This despicable act […]
Montreal’s historic Bagg Street Shul defaced with antisemitic graffiti
Members of the Montreal police hate crimes unit were expected to meet today (March 29) with officials of the historic Bagg Street Shul after it was defaced with Nazi symbols. Michael Kaplan, the century-old synagogue’s president, said the vandalism occurred sometime over the weekend. He described it as the first such incident of its kind […]
Quebec Anglos are alone in fight against Ottawa’s language bill: Liberal MP Anthony Housefather
Montreal-area Liberal MP Anthony Housefather says he would not vote for his government’s proposed amendment to the Official Languages Act if Quebec’s controversial new language legislation remains a part of it. Housefather, who represents Mount Royal which has a large Jewish population, said the federal Bill C-13 references Bill 96 as a model for the […]
Who is the fairest in the land? A look back at Montreal’s Queen Esther beauty contests
Jewish communities across Canada will come together this week to celebrate Purim by hearing Megillat Esther and participating in various festivities. Perhaps some will opt for costume contests; others carnivals and Purim shpiels. Yet, if we were to flip the calendar back almost a century, the flagship event of Canadian Jewry’s Purim celebrations looked a […]
Montreal playwright Alice Abracen tackles the dangers of hateful ideas and political divides with ‘What Rough Beast’
Montreal playwright Alice Abracen’s latest production, What Rough Beast, is a politically charged piece that explores how opposing political beliefs divide families and communities. The play, which is being presented at the Centaur Theatre in March, looks at what happens when two college students with radically different political beliefs collaborate on a guest lecture series—which […]
