A Jewish man who was beaten in front of his children in a Montreal park suffered a broken nose and is now recovering at home, according to a community activist.
The 32-year-old Montreal man was attacked while visiting a public park on Friday afternoon with his three young children.
A video of the attack, which drew condemnation after it circulated on social media, shows the man on the ground as his attacker throws punches at his head. As the attacker steps back, a crying child clings to the victim’s arm.
A Montreal police spokesman said an investigation is under way but no arrest has been made. The circumstances surrounding the attack are unclear.
Mayer Feig, an activist in the Montreal Jewish community, said he spoke with the victim, whom he described as traumatized in the aftermath of the attack. He said the victim was treated in hospital and has since returned home but remains shaken by what occurred.
Mr. Feig said the victim told him he stopped in a park Friday afternoon while his children played and then encountered a man he described as “disturbed.”
“That’s what the victim told me. It looked like a disturbed person, but he still feels that he attacked him because of his Jewish identity,” Mr. Feig said.
The attack drew the attention of political leaders. Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed the incident in a statement on social media.
“The attack on a Jewish father in Montreal late yesterday, in front of his own children, is an appalling act of violence,” Mr. Carney wrote in a post Saturday on X. “Everyone in Canada has an inalienable right to live in safety.”
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante said in a social-media post that she was troubled by the “violent and unacceptable attack,” and that Montreal police will get to the bottom of the incident.
The brief video of the attack, about 30 seconds long, shows a man striking the father while he lies near a splash pad. The attacker then throws what looks like a kippah – also known as a yarmulke – into the water and walks away. The incident occurred around 2:30 p.m. Friday in the Park Extension neighbourhood. A witness called police but the attacker was not immediately apprehended.
While in hospital, the victim was contacted by Montreal police hate-crimes investigators and gave a statement, Mr. Feig said, but it’s not clear at this point whether the incident could lead to a hate-crime charge.
“The community is concerned,” Mr. Feig said. “I don’t have to tell you what’s been going on in the streets to our citizens for the last two years with all these chants and these really harassed communities in Montreal and in Toronto. And it’s just allowed to happen.”
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs posted the video on its Facebook page on Friday and called for action.
“Authorities must hold the attacker accountable, and leaders at all levels of government must confront this dangerous escalation,” the CIJA said.
Christopher Skeete, Quebec’s minister responsible for the fight against racism, also took to X to condemn the incident.
“I am deeply disturbed by this video showing a member of the Jewish community being attacked for no reason in front of his child, whose cries can be heard,” Mr. Skeete said.
“All Quebecers have the right to live in safety.”
With a report from The Canadian Press