A popular Montreal kosher restaurant was destroyed in what police are investigating as a possible arson attack early Saturday morning, the latest in a worsening pattern of antisemitic attacks across the city and throughout Jewish communities in Canada. 

First responders were called to Nöam Restaurant in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood around 3:15 a.m. Saturday to find the building engulfed in flames. Despite the efforts of roughly 80 firefighters, the two-story building suffered extensive damage. No injuries were reported, and no arrests had been made as of Sunday afternoon. 

Montreal police did not respond to a request for comment from Jewish Insider. 

The Montreal Gazette reported that the blaze was set by a single individual who appeared to be a young man, perhaps in his early 20s, according to video footage of the incident.

“The Jewish community is in shock,” Tzipi Zeigerman, an Israeli who moved to the neighborhood two years ago, told JI on Sunday. Zeigerman said Nöam Restaurant is “one of the most beloved restaurants in the community” and locals have started raising funds to help it reopen.

Rep. Brad Schneider (D-IL), co-chair of the Congressional Jewish Caucus, said he and his colleagues “are disgusted and outraged to see yet another heinous attack on a Jewish-owned business, this time an overnight, apparent arson attack that destroyed a beloved kosher restaurant in Montreal.”  

Elsewhere in Montreal on Saturday, supporters of the CF Montreal soccer team reportedly heckled an Israeli player for the opposing New England Revolution during a match between the teams, with some Montreal fans reportedly chanting, “Death to Israel” and “Free Palestine.”  

The attack comes amid heightened tensions in the Côte-des-Neiges neighborhood, a heavily Jewish area of Montreal where earlier this summer a Jewish civilian and a police officer were killed in a shooting; the suspect was also killed. In his manifesto, the alleged gunman reportedly railed against Jews and Zionists. 

Jewish leaders across Canada have warned that law enforcement and the government have failed to properly address a historic rise in antisemitism in the country. The Canadian government eliminated the standalone role of national antisemitism envoy in February.

In April, soon after a spate of synagogue shootings in Toronto that caused damage but no injuries, Irwin Cotler, Canada’s former justice minister, told JI that the incidents were “part of a pattern.”

“We are experiencing not only the highest level of antisemitic incidents since tracking began in the 1970s, but the real disturbing data has been the dramatic increase in hate crimes targeting Canadian Jews,” he said at the time. 

Cotler warned that if not addressed quickly, there’s “a ticking bomb here in Canada for what will be the Bondi massacre occurring in Canada,” a reference to the December 2025 mass shooting at a Hanukkah gathering at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, that killed 15 people.

A manifesto allegedly left by the gunman behind Monday’s rampage in Côte-des-Neiges, a heavily Jewish neighborhood in Montreal, repeatedly targeted Jews and Zionists, specifically identifying “influential Zionists” among his intended victims, according to a copy of the document published by Rebel News.

A Jewish civilian, a police officer and the suspect were killed in the attack, while one other police officer was seriously injured but is in stable condition. On Tuesday, Quebec authorities identified the alleged suspect as Seth Hatfield, a 25-year-old man from Alberta. Police have not yet released a motive for the attack. 

The 104-page document, published in full by Rebel News, lists “valid potential class A targets,” including large investment banks, powerful politicians and “influential Zionists.” 

The manifesto included antisemitic conspiracy theories, stating, “The influence of Zionist Jews upon the western bourgeoisie is in fact so strong that in my other works I sometimes refer to the western ruling class itself as the Judaeo-bourgeois class.” It also repeatedly laments male loneliness and capitalist ideology. 

The Quebec coroner’s office confirmed that the civilian killed was Michael Mizrachi, 64. He has been described as an active member of the Jewish community and father of three who sold suits for a living. His local rabbi, Mendel Raskin, told Canadian media that Mizrachi was originally from Lebanon and had moved to Israel before settling in Montreal.

Montreal police declined to comment to Jewish Insider Tuesday on the ongoing investigation. 

The shooting comes as Jewish leaders across Canada have warned that law enforcement and the government have failed to properly address a historic rise in “systemic” antisemitism. 

Three people were killed in a shooting attack in Côte-des-Neiges, a heavily Jewish neighborhood in Montreal, Canada. A civilian, a police officer and the suspect were confirmed dead by Montreal police, while one other police officer was seriously injured but in stable condition.

Police urged residents to shelter in place, lock their doors and avoid the area as they responded to the incident and searched the area for additional suspects. In a press conference, Fady Dagher, Montreal’s police chief, said that the motive was still under investigation. He said they had determined there had only been one suspect who shot at them and he had been neutralized.

Tzipi Zeigerman, an Israeli who moved to the neighborhood two years ago, told Jewish Insider she was home when the attack began around noon, and from her window “noticed people running and screaming ‘active shooting.’”

“I heard tons of police cars and helicopters,” said Zeigerman, adding that as of Monday afternoon the streets were still closed and all businesses and schools in the area, including several Jewish institutions, remained on lockdown.

“It’s a tragic moment, it’s a real nightmare, knowing that you get engaged … to protect and serve, and get killed — it’s a dramatic moment for me as a chief, for my troops,” Dagher said, noting that he had visited the troops in hospital. “When we become a police officer, we become a police officer knowing the risk — we never expect this to happen.”

Côte-des-Neiges is home to several historically significant synagogues, including the The Spanish & Portuguese Synagogue, the oldest Jewish congregation in Canada, dating back to 1760. 

The shooting comes amid a wave of targeted antisemitic attacks in Canada, which have led local Jewish leaders to raise the alarm on the country’s failure to properly protect the community. The Canadian government eliminated the standalone role of national antisemitism envoy in February. 

Three synagogues in the Toronto area were shot at in early March in a span of five days, amid an escalated threat environment as Canada has experienced some of the most severe manifestations of the global surge in antisemitism since the Oct. 7, 2023 terrorist attacks — with higher rates of antisemitic incidents than other countries but lower conviction rates. In another recent incident, Canadian law enforcement arrested three Toronto-area men accused of planning violent kidnappings targeting women and members of the Jewish community. Irwin Cotler, Canada’s former justice minister, told JI in April that if the issue is not addressed quickly, there’s “a ticking bomb here in Canada for what will be the Bondi massacre occurring in Canada,” a reference to the December 2025 mass shooting at a Hanukkah gathering at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia, that killed 15 people. 

Still, Zeigerman, who said she moved to Canada from Israel to seek a safer life, “felt very safe here — until now.”

A synagogue in Montreal was targeted with arson early Wednesday morning for the second time since the Oct. 7 attacks. The incident marks the seventh instance in the last 14 months where a Jewish institution in Montreal, Canada’s second largest city, has been attacked. 

As a result, Jewish leaders criticized elected officials on Wednesday for what they say has been a muted response in the face of rising antisemitism and warn that Canada is becoming increasingly unsafe for Jews, spiraling into “total chaos.”  

Police were called to Beth Tikvah, a Modern Orthodox synagogue, in the city’s Dollard-des-Ormeaux suburb around 3 a.m. after receiving reports of fire, according to the Montreal Gazette.  Police also discovered two smashed windows at the nearby Jewish community center that houses offices of the Federation CJA and the Hebrew Foundation School.

Upon arriving at the scene, police reportedly found remnants of a crude firebomb and smashed glass. Smoke caused minor damage to the building. No injuries were reported. A spokesperson for the Montreal police told Jewish Insider that the investigation is ongoing and no arrests have been made. 

Henry Topas, Beth Tikvah’s cantor and B’nai Brith Canada’s regional director for Quebec and Atlantic Canada, told JI that the attack comes as the government of Canada has “allowed unbridled immigration to come.”

“The people who have been coming have not been adapting to the fabric of Canadian society,” Topas said. “Montreal Mayor [Valérie Plante] has virtually handcuffed the police. She doesn’t let the police do their job and she has allowed threatening — verging on violent — [anti-Israel] demonstrations to go on and people feel free to do whatever the hell they want,” Topas said. “It’s total chaos.” Plante did not immediately respond to a request for comment from JI about her handling of anti-Israel protests. 

In a statement Wednesday, Federation CJA echoed that the fire is a “brutal reminder of what happens when politicians don’t denounce antisemitism and the escalation of violence in our streets.”

Pierre Poilievre, Canada’s Conservative party opposition leader, condemned “these cowardly acts” in a statement. 

He called on “this Liberal government to finally show a backbone and do something to protect our people.”

“Another brazen act of antisemitic hate and violence overnight,” Poilievre wrote on X. “After 9 years of [Prime Minister] Justin Trudeau, Canada has become a more dangerous place for people of the Jewish faith.” 

Both Trudeau and Plante denounced the attacks in statements. On X, Plante wrote, “Antisemitic actions are criminal actions. The SPVM will investigate and will find those responsible. It is not acceptable that Montrealers live feeling unsafe because of their religion.”

Trudeau described it as a “cowardly, criminal” and a “vile antisemitic attack.”

Jewish leaders worldwide also condemned the attacks and called for a stronger response from Canada’s lawmakers.

Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the Anti-Defamation League, said on X that the “lack of global outrage” to attacks on Montreal’s Jewish community “is inexplicable and inexcusable.”

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said the local government should “take the strongest possible stance against antisemitism” following the attacks.

The recent spate of antisemitic incidents in Montreal has also included a Jewish day school being fired upon and the vandalism of a billboard announcing a new Montreal Holocaust Museum.

Beth Tikvah was also the target of a Molotov cocktail in November 2023, which caused burn marks on the front door. Topas said that despite the attacks, he expects “above normal attendance this [Shabbat] to show solidarity, [including] people from other societies and faiths.”