The Montreal police department arrested a 19-year-old man, whom it suspects of carrying out an arson attack on Beth Tikvah, a Modern Orthodox synagogue in the Montreal suburb of Dollard-des-Ormeaux late last year.
Officers recovered evidence from the suspect’s home, according to the police department, which stated that the man allegedly firebombed the synagogue at about 3 a.m. on Dec. 18. After officers put the fire out with minimal damage to the synagogue, they found two broken windows at a Jewish community center across the street.
B’nai Brith Canada named the suspect as Mohamed Ilyess Akodad of Anjou, Quebec, and said the suspect is accused of arson, attempted arson, destruction of property and possession of incendiary materials. It also thanked the police for arresting the suspect.
Henry Topas, B’nai Brith Canada’s regional director for Quebec and Atlantic Canada and a cantor at Beth Tikvah, stated that “brazen attacks on our places of worship have left deep scars in Montreal’s Jewish community.”
“An arrest is a relief, but antisemitism continues to escalate in Quebec and throughout the country,” Topas said. “We hope that, at a later stage, the police decide to add hate-crime charges.”
According to a report that B’nai Brith Canada released last week, there was a 215.7% increase in incidents of Jew-hatred in Quebec in 2024 compared to the prior year.