Montreal police investigating assault on Orthodox Jewish man

Montreal police are searching for a suspect after a 32-year-old Jewish man was punched repeatedly Friday afternoon, an attack captured in a video poste on X.

Montreal police (SPVM) are investigating after an Orthodox Jewish man was assaulted in the Villeray–Saint-Michel–Parc-Extension borough on Friday afternoon.

Police received a 911 call around 2:45 p.m. reporting that a 32-year-old man had been struck multiple times by a suspect at the intersection of de l’Épée Avenue and Beaumont Avenue.

Authorities said the suspect fled before officers arrived at the scene. The motive remains unknown, according to police.

A video posted on X shows the victim being punched repeatedly by another man while his three young children were nearby. The suspect then threw the victim’s kippa to the ground before leaving.

Mayer Feig, a spokesperson for the Hasidic community, told CTV News the victim was hospitalized. No arrests have been made.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) said the Jewish community was left “shaken” by the attack and called for accountability.

“An unprovoked attack on a Jewish father, in front of his own children, must not go unanswered,” it said on X.

‘Something deeply wrong in our society’

Côte Saint-Luc Mayor Mitchell Brownstein said the attack “reflects something deeply wrong in our society.”

“Hatred of Jewish people is not a Jewish problem. It is a societal problem,” he wrote in a statement. “Too often, antisemitism is explained away by shifting blame from the perpetrators of hatred to the victims.

“I’ve heard too many comments from people saying something along the lines of, ‘Well, what do you expect when Israel is in a war against Hamas?’ These same people never think to say, ‘Well, what do you expect when the City of Montreal administration and police force say that ‘Globalize the Intifada’ is not dangerous hate speech.’”

Brownstein said that “kind of derangement” needed for the attack of a man in front of his daughter “grows from long-standing prejudice against Jewish people.”

He said that “visible Jewish Quebecers” have stalkers and he wants more done to crack down on hate speech.

Prime Minister Mark Carney also spoke against the attack on the Jewish father “in front of his own children,” calling it “an appalling act of violence.”

“Everyone in Canada has an inalienable right to live in safety,” he said on X. “My thoughts are with the victim and his family as they recover, and my support is with law enforcement as they work to bring the perpetrator to justice.

Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante condemned the as

sault on Saturday morning, saying she was deeply disturbed.

“My thoughts are with the victim and his loved ones,” she said, adding that the SPVM “will get to the bottom of this disturbing incident.”

Quebec Premier Francois Legault also said

he hopes “justice will be served.”

“I am deeply shocked by the violent assault against a Jewish father in Montreal. Hatred and violence have no place in Quebec,” he said.