How Montreal Became North America’s Most Dangerous City for Jews

Dec. 27 2023

Bad as the wave of anti-Semitism in the U.S. has been, it seems less intense than what has been transpiring in Montreal. There were at least three incidents where shots were fired at Jewish schools, four attacks on synagogues or Jewish community centers with firebombs or Molotov cocktails, and dozens of cases of anti-Semitic graffiti, vicious anti-Israel protests, and so forth. Warren Kinsella comments:

In none of the most serious cases, all crimes, has an arrest been made. And Jews who spoke to . . . reporters declined to give their names—or report to police other anti-Semitic crimes—because they feared retribution. That is Montreal since October 7. This city has experienced more hate crimes against Jews than any other North American city. . . . What the hell is happening here?

“The reason that Montreal is the only city in North America that has had multiple violent targeted attacks against Jewish institutions and people—from gunshots to Molotov cocktails—is because there is no condemnation of jihadist behavior taking place on the streets of Montreal. None. We need a political voice to say, ‘Enough!’ But we don’t have it.”

Beryl Wajsman, the articulate and passionate editor of Montreal’s award-winning newspaper the Suburban, pauses. He looks more angry than sad. . . . Wajsman says [the city’s mayor] Valerie Plante is much more preoccupied with greening the city and “the war on the car” than she is with the safety of Montreal’s Jews. That has sent a message to Montreal’s pro-Hamas fanatics, he says. “They know they’re not going to be taken in by the police. They know they can trespass, and block traffic, and more.”

And they’re paid to do so, he says. Pro-Hamas protesters can get up to $50 for each protest they attend, he claims, and they’ve divided the city up into grids, with leaders responsible for each grid.

Read more at Toronto Sun

More about: Anti-Semitism, Canadian Jewry, Montreal

What Iran Seeks to Get from Cease-Fire Negotiations

June 20 2025

Yesterday, the Iranian foreign minister flew to Geneva to meet with European diplomats. President Trump, meanwhile, indicated that cease-fire negotiations might soon begin with Iran, which would presumably involve Tehran agreeing to make concessions regarding its nuclear program, while Washington pressures Israel to halt its military activities. According to Israeli media, Iran already began putting out feelers to the U.S. earlier this week. Aviram Bellaishe considers the purpose of these overtures:

The regime’s request to return to negotiations stems from the principle of deception and delay that has guided it for decades. Iran wants to extricate itself from a situation of total destruction of its nuclear facilities. It understands that to save the nuclear program, it must stop at a point that would allow it to return to it in the shortest possible time. So long as the negotiation process leads to halting strikes on its military capabilities and preventing the destruction of the nuclear program, and enables the transfer of enriched uranium to a safe location, it can simultaneously create the two tracks in which it specializes—a false facade of negotiations alongside a hidden nuclear race.

Read more at Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs

More about: Iran, Israeli Security, U.S. Foreign policy