Puffer

Popular kosher restaurant in Montreal destroyed in apparent arson attack

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Montreal police have turned over the case involving an overnight fire that destroyed a popular kosher restaurant to the arson squad. A spokesperson said investigators have yet to establish a motive.

A Montreal kosher restaurant has been destroyed in what a local MP calls an apparent arson attack.
MP Andrew Housefather says the fire at Nöam Restaurant “must be investigated as a hate crime.”
Police spokesperson Raphaël Bergeron told the Montreal Gazette that someone was seen leaving the premises shortly after the fire began and the case has been transferred to the arson squad.

Firefighters were called around 3:15 a.m. to the blaze, according to Bergeron. The building, which housed Nöam, which was a kosher restaurant serving Mediterranean, Italian and international dishes, sustained major damage before firefighters brought it under control.

Bergeron said investigators have yet to establish a motive.
Earlier Saturday, Montreal newspaper columnist and city councillor Mike Cohen reported on X “(w)hat can only be described as a major hate crime” at the popular Montreal kosher restaurant. It has “been burnt the ground,” Cohen said.

His report was reposted on X by Montreal MP and p arliamentary secretary to the Minister of Emergency Management, Andrew Housefather.

Housefather wrote in a Saturday morning X post that he is “a bsolutely disgusted to see what appears to be an arson attack on a local kosher restaurant overnight. This attack on a Jewish own business must be investigated as a hate crime & those involved in this criminal act must be caught & prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Cohen also posted his report on Instagram .

“Arson is a crime. Antisemitism is a hate crime,” Montreal city councillor Leslie Roberts posted on X Saturday morning.

The popular restaurant is open every night except Friday and on Sunday for brunch, according to The Montrealer . “There are only 60 seats and reservations are strongly recommended,” it said in a recent report.

National Post has reached out to the Montreal Police service for further details.

-More to come

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