FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 1, 2019 

Press Release: Jewish community shocked by alleged antisemitic incident in Montreal

Montreal, QC — On Sunday, July 28, a Jewish man was allegedly physically and verbally assaulted by a taxi driver in the parking lot of a St-Laurent apartment complex. Federation CJA and its advocacy agent, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), were immediately in touch with both the Service de Police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) and Champlain Taxi. Montreal Police has assured the Jewish community that the matter is being investigated as a hate crime, while Champlain Taxi, who conveyed us their apologies to the Jewish community for the incident, immediately fired the driver whose permit, they told us, will be revoked by the Montreal Taxi Bureau.

In response, CIJA-Québec Co-Chair Rabbi Reuben Poupko issued the following statement:

“We are gratified by Champlain Taxi’s swift and substantive response to this alleged antisemitic incident, and are relieved to find out that the taxi driver in question has been fired and is having his taxi license revoked. CIJA and Federation CJA have been in contact with the SPVM regarding the incident and are confident that it will be thoroughly investigated and, as the case may be, prosecuted.”

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The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) is the advocacy agent of the Jewish Federations of Canada-UIA including Montreal’s Federation CJA.

Background information

• On July 22, Statistics Canada released its 2018 police-reported hate crime data showing an overall decline in incidents. While hate crimes against other targeted communities saw substantial declines, hate crimes targeting Canadian Jews remained relatively stable after a spike in 2017 – dropping by 4% in 2018.
• The Jewish community remains the most frequently targeted group when it comes to hate crime, with an incident taking place roughly every 24 hours in Canada.
• Regional data reveals the growth of hate crimes in key cities over the past five years, including substantial increases in Montreal.

Source: https://cija.ca/statistics-canada-hate-crime-data-2018/