“This vile antisemitic violence in Canada must end, and this Liberal government must act now to protect our people,” said Canadian Opposition and Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre.
By JNS
A police officer was wounded on Sunday night in a shooting outside the Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ontario, during Yom Kippur, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney confirmed on Monday.
“Jewish people must be able to worship safely. To live free, open, proud Jewish lives. Canada’s government will do everything in our power to support law enforcement in ensuring that the perpetrator is held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” said Carney.
The officer was in critical but stable condition as of Monday afternoon, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, which later identified the victim, citing investigators, as Const. Jeff Smith. The report named the suspected shooter as Sean Ward, 29, who sustained life-threatening injuries in an exchange of fire with police.
The incident reportedly occurred around 7 p.m. as Jews gathered for prayer services on their holiest day of the year.
“This vile antisemitic violence in Canada must end, and this Liberal government must act now to protect our people,” said Canadian Opposition and Conservative Party Leader Pierre Poilievre on Monday.
“Jewish Canadians must once again be able to live in their communities and pray in their places of worship without fear of being shot at or attacked,” he added.
The synagogue’s president, Norman Weddum, told the CBC on Monday that the officer had been stationed outside the building in an unmarked car.
“It was boom, boom, boom,” he was quoted as saying. “So that’s when we ran back into the auditorium of the synagogue, closed the doors behind us so as to not leave a visible target and we hit the floor.”
Ontario Premier Doug Ford said on Monday he was “disgusted” by the shooting and that his thoughts were with the Jewish community in Belleville, “who have every right to gather and worship safely and without fear.”
“We owe an immense debt of gratitude to this brave officer and to all the first responders who acted so quickly to keep the community safe,” he added.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and Jewish Federations of Canada–United Israel Appeal on Monday night called for immediate government action in a joint statement following the shooting.
“Jewish Canadians are emerging from Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish calendar, to the horrifying images of gunfire outside Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, where members of the Jewish community had gathered to pray,” the groups said. “Jewish Canadians should not need armed police outside their synagogues simply to pray safely.”
The organizations praised Const. Smith and called for stronger enforcement against extremist networks, improved intelligence coordination and easier access to paid-duty police protection for Jewish institutions. They also argued that anti-Zionism and the demonization of the Jewish state are contributing to violence in Canada.
B’nai Brith Canada said the shooting must serve as a “wake-up call for Canada,” adding, “We have been warning for months that the escalation of antisemitic incidents and violence was creating an increasingly dangerous environment for Jewish Canadians.We warned that a s attacks against Jewish people and institutions become normalized, it was only a matter of time before someone is seriously hurt or killed. That day has come.”
B’nai Brith called on Canadian authorities to treat such violence as terrorism, increase government funding for security at Jewish institutions, strengthen hate-crime prosecution and enforce laws against hate speech, incitement and intimidation.
Israel’s Foreign Ministry on Monday also condemned the shooting, calling it a “terror attack” that “marks a further escalation of the antisemitism crisis in Canada.”
“Israel stands in solidarity with Canada’s Jewish community, which faces an increasingly threatening reality,” the ministry said, adding that unaddressed incitement and anti-Israel policies are fueling Jew-hatred in the country.