Shooting at Jewish-owned falafel stand in Canada

The Montreal police opened an investigation following a shooting incident against a Jewish-owned falafel shop in the Mile End neighborhood. Israel Hayom reported that the owner, Yoni Amir, said his staff noticed the damaged windows yesterday (Wednesday) and called 911. Yoni testified that he believed his restaurant was attacked because he was Jewish.

Recently, Yoni's business was included in several boycott lists that were distributed on social networks that included businesses that support Israel. According to him, "Actually, very intentionally, we have never expressed ourselves politically. I don't feel that a restaurant should be a platform for politics," Amir told the Canadian media. "I am Jewish. I happened to be born in Israel and although we did not express ourselves politically, we entered this boycott list and it seems as if it led to a focus on this business."

The falafel stand shooting, part of a troubling pattern of anti-Semitic incidents in Canada recently, was met with condemnation from political leaders. City council member Sonny Moroz called the incident "a reminder of humanity's worst moments" and urged action: "I call on all governments and civil society to stop this hatred. As a Montreal City Councillor, let's condemn these attacks!" he wrote on social media.