By Mayer Wochyniak
Two Montreal politicians, Projet Montréal leader Luc Rabouin and Transition Montréal leader Craig Sauvé, have ignited outrage by signing the Pacte Anti Apartheid, a pro Palestinian pledge demanding that the city cut all institutional ties with Israel, divest from companies labeled complicit, and boycott Israeli cultural, academic, and sports institutions. Their signatures come at the same time as a new lawsuit filed by prominent lawyer Neil Oberman against the City of Montreal and Mayor Valérie Plante, accusing city officials of allowing antisemitic mobs to terrorize Jewish citizens while police and politicians look the other way. The overlap between political endorsement and public intimidation has pushed the Jewish community into a state of fear that many say is unlike anything they have ever experienced in Montreal.
The lawsuit follows months of escalating hostility. Protesters have surrounded synagogues and shouted threats at worshippers. At Chevra Kadisha synagogue, a crowd waving Palestinian flags blocked entrances and screamed that Jews were not welcome. In Westmount, masked demonstrators appeared outside Shaar Hashomayim synagogue despite a court order banning protests near Jewish institutions. Jewish schools have been vandalized with graffiti, and teachers have reported verbal harassment outside their buildings. Downtown rallies have featured open praise of Hamas, chants calling to globalize the intifada, and banners depicting Israel as a terrorist state. Jewish students at McGill and Concordia say they are afraid to identify themselves publicly, and many have stopped wearing symbols of their faith in public.
Oberman’s lawsuit accuses the city of abandoning its most basic responsibility to protect its citizens. It argues that Montreal has allowed dangerous and unchecked demonstrations to escalate into violence and has failed to enforce court injunctions intended to protect Jewish spaces. The claim points to repeated instances where police stood by while protesters defied orders and shouted antisemitic slogans outside community centers and synagogues. Oberman’s legal action demands that the city uphold the rule of law and safeguard those who are being targeted simply for being Jewish. His case reflects the deep frustration of a community that feels ignored by those who govern and unprotected by those sworn to defend them.
The decision by Rabouin and Sauvé to sign the Pacte Anti Apartheid has intensified that sense of alarm. The pledge uses the language of social justice but its message is unmistakable. It singles out the Jewish state and aligns the city’s political discourse with a movement that has made Jewish life in Montreal increasingly precarious. For many, it signals that the hostility they face in the streets has now entered the political mainstream. The fear is that what begins as symbolic alignment could easily evolve into policy, with City Hall considering motions to sever cultural partnerships with Israel, deny funding to Jewish organizations connected to Israel, or impose boycotts that isolate the community even further.
Montreal’s Jewish leaders have responded forcefully. Federation CJA and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs have both warned that the city is facing a crisis of safety and leadership. They have called on officials to enforce injunctions, increase police presence around Jewish institutions, and condemn antisemitic rhetoric without hesitation or ambiguity. Synagogues have been forced to invest heavily in security, hiring guards for prayer services and installing reinforced doors and cameras. Jewish parents now organize escort groups to walk their children to school, and community events are held under tight security. What used to be routine expressions of faith and identity have become acts of courage.
The current moment has shaken Montreal’s Jewish community to its core. Families who have lived in the city for generations say they no longer recognize it. They see a government reluctant to act, politicians courting extremist causes, and a media that often downplays their fear. The Pacte Anti Apartheid, the lawsuit, and the unending protests have come together to create a single, undeniable reality. Jewish Montrealers are living under pressure, targeted both symbolically and physically, while those in power debate politics instead of protection.
The city that once took pride in its multicultural harmony now stands at a crossroads, and this election will determine whether Jewish life in Montreal remains safe, respected, and free, or becomes another casualty of political cowardice and voter apathy.
Most of the media with the exception of the National Post have pushed bias and one sidedness unchecked for too long. Even those who see through this blindness are becoming too tired to read anymore.
It’s fascinating that the “ facts” about Israel abound. The horrors of Hamas continue to remain in the dugout.