Montreal kosher restaurant severely damaged in fire; cops investigating

Police in Montreal said Saturday that they were investigating a suspicious fire that broke out at a kosher restaurant in the Canadian city overnight, which caused significant damage to the building.

No one was injured as a result of the fire, which came amid a recent string of suspected antisemitic attacks and incidents across Canada.

According to a police spokesperson, the fire broke out at Nöam restaurant, in Montreal’s central district, around 3:15 a.m. local time.

Canada’s CBC broadcaster, quoting police, said there was “preliminary information” that a person was seen near the restaurant at the time of the blaze.

Police acquired surveillance footage that will be looked at as part of the investigation, the outlet added.

Quebec Liberal MP Anthony Housefather demanded in a post on social media that the attack on a “Jewish business must be investigated as a hate crime.”

Absolutely disgusted to see what appears to be an arson attack on a local kosher restaurant overnight. This attack on a Jewish own business must be investigated as a hate crime & those involved in this criminal act must be caught & prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. https://t.co/FEgsdCr3z3

— Anthony Housefather (@AHousefather) August 1, 2026

Gunfire and arson attacks have repeatedly hit synagogues and other Jewish sites in Toronto and other Canadian cities, without causing any fatalities.

Last week, Toronto police said they were investigating a shooting at a Jewish-owned bakery in the city as a potential hate crime, after a branch of Kiva’s Bagel Bar was targeted by gunfire, and another branch elsewhere in Toronto had its windows smashed. There were no injuries in either incident.

Police in the city said last month that hired gunmen appeared to be targeting Jewish sites in the city.

By May 2026, Canada’s Jewish community had experienced more violent antisemitic attacks than all of last year, putting it on track to be the most violent year for the Jewish community in recent memory.

The 400,000-strong Canadian Jewish community has been among the hardest hit by antisemitism since the Hamas terror group launched its war against Israel on October 7, 2023.

Since the Hamas rampage in Israel, a Toronto Jewish girls’ school was hit with gunfire in overnight shootings three times, two Jewish institutions in Montreal were hit by firebombings, three men attempted to kidnap Jewish women, antisemitic graffiti was daubed on three synagogues in Nova Scotia, and a Jewish man in Montreal was beaten in front of his children.

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