Again! Jewish-owned Montreal restaurant targeted in overnight attack

In a troubling incident that occurred overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday, the Jewish-owned restaurant Falafel Yoni in Montreal was targeted and attacked. The restaurant, which had recently been listed on a boycott list circulated by anti-Israel activists on social media, was shot three times, leaving three holes in its front window.

On June 19, early morning, the staff at Falafel Yoni discovered three holes on the front window of the restaurant and they called the police. "This morning, when the staff came in, they noticed some holes in the window and quickly realized that it was some projectiles that were fired at the window," explained a worker at the restaurant whose identity has been hidden to avoid reprisal. "They alerted my partner and myself, and we subsequently contacted the police because it was pretty apparent that the restaurant was targeted for some kind of violent incident."

The attack is believed to have occurred overnight, as the window was intact when the staff closed up the previous evening. Apparently, no one heard anything overnight, raising questions about the type of weapon used. The restaurant had recently been placed on a boycott list related to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, which has led to a rise in anti-Israel sentiment and actions.

"We were put on some boycott lists recently in regards to the situation that's currently transpiring in the Middle East," the worker continued. "Our businesses have intentionally never made any political commentary whatsoever. The ownership is Jewish, one of whom was born in Israel. We surmise that the reason we were targeted was for those reasons."

The incident has left the staff and owners of Falafel Yoni feeling vulnerable. "Over the last several months, there have been stickers and things like that posted on our windows—Free Palestine stickers, genocide stickers, things of that nature," noted the worker. "It's pretty unnerving and unsettling for the employees. It's not okay to have that type of feeling or fear in your place of work."

A nearby Jewish-owned restaurant worker expressed similar concerns. "The Jewish community is now really afraid to be in Montreal. This has never happened before, but since the conflict started, we fear for our children and for being boycotted," they said.

Community members have called for more action from local authorities to protect Jewish businesses and establishments. "I hope the police enforce the laws we have. This type of violence and hate doesn't have a place in our city," said the Falafel Yoni worker. "I hope things settle down because this is unacceptable."

Alexandra Lavoie

Quebec based Journalist

Alexa graduated with a degree in biology from Laval University. Throughout her many travels, she has seen political instability as well as corruption. While she witnessed social disorder on a daily basis, she has always been a defender of society’s most vulnerable. She’s been around the world several times, and now joins Rebel News to shed light on today’s biggest stories.

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