'It's a hate crime': Jewish father targeted in Montreal attack, brother-in-law speaks out
A Jewish man was targeted in a brazen daylight assault last week at a Montreal park while with his children. His brother-in-law says his relative was the victim of a hate crime and is calling on political leaders to address rising antisemitism.
A brutal attack on a father in front of his three children occurred last week in Montreal. Video of the assault went viral online and several politicians, including Premier François Legault, Prime Minister Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre, all condemned this violent attack.
It's worth noting that while Poilievre reacted quickly to this attack, Prime Minister Carney chose to wish everyone a happy International Cat Day on social media before he eventually commented on the matter the following day.
Montreal's woke mayor, Valérie Plante, also issued a public statement.
But while the statements poured in, concrete actions to address rising antisemitic crimes in Montreal remain absent — especially from Mayor Plante, who has been inactive in addressing the growing insecurity experienced by the city's Jewish community following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack against Israel.
On Tuesday, we learned a man has been arrested by Montreal police.
Rebel News caught up with the victim's brother-in-law, who recounted the incident and described the impact this attack has had on the victim and his children.
Zevi told us that the victim, who we are not identifying for privacy reasons, took his kids out to the park on Friday afternoon.
Prior to what has been widely shared on social media, Zevi says the attacker poured a bottle of water on his brother-in-law. He was then attacked, with the suspect striking him in front of his kids.
Zevi reports that his brother-in-law has suffered a broken nose and is still in pain. Psychologically, the incident has taken a toll on the man's children.
“Let's just all imagine what happens to a kid when this happens in front of them,” he said. “Their dad is being beaten up for no reason and we can all use our imagination how this might affect them in the future.”
When police failed to quickly respond to the attack, prompting another call, Zevi says officers showed up an hour after the incident and “didn't do much, to be honest.”
The response was treated “as if two people were fighting,” he explained, noting the officers didn't act as though it was a hate-motivated assault against a Jewish resident.
“Only after the story went viral, the pressure was on them. It couldn't be ignored anymore.”
With police seemingly disinterested in solving the issue, Zevi says the community “took matters into our own hands,” working to identify the suspect and pushing the police to take action — at the very same park where the attack took place.
“Call it by what it is, It's a hate crime. He wasn't targeted because he started a fight; the attacker didn't pick on anybody else,” he said, noting the Jewish father was targeted and the suspect threw his kippah in the water.
“To not call it antisemitism when it clearly is that, that itself is shocking. We appreciate all the kind words, but we need action because it's only getting worse.”
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.
