Video footage circulated on social media last week of a keffiyeh-clad young man stealing and burning Israeli flags at Hebrew Foundation School in Montreal as the community celebrated Yom Ha’atzmaut, Israeli Independence Day.
After bragging about the crime on Instagram—with a caption “I am not afraid of Yahudis and I do not care about any ‘promises’ ”—a 16-year-old has been arrested.
“We commend Montreal police for their quick arrest of a suspect in connection with the disturbing Israeli flag-burning outside a Jewish school. This sends a message that such hateful acts will not be tolerated,” said the Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center.
Prior to the arrest, Michael Levitt, CEO of the human-rights organization, stated that “the targeting of Jewish schools and businesses and destroying the Israeli flag send a hateful message to Canada’s Jews, seeking to vilify them for their support of the world’s one and only Jewish State.”
Although Montreal’s Hate Crime Unit apprehended the suspect, police have avoided describing the actions as a hate crime.
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