U.S. officials urge Canada to take action after suspected arson at Montreal kosher restaurant

Two children look at the damage done to Nöam restaurant on Décarie Blvd. in Montreal in a suspected arson attack, on Saturday, Aug. 1, 2026. As police investigate to determine a motive, U.S. officials are urging Canada to do more to combat antisemitism. Photo by John Kenney /Montreal Gazette

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Some U.S. officials are condemning the apparent arson that destroyed a popular kosher restaurant in Montreal early Sunday morning, with some characterizing the incident as part of a broader pattern of antisemitic attacks.

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Illinois Congressman Paul Schneider, co-chair of the Congressional Jewish Congress, said he and his colleagues “are disgusted and outraged” by what he described as “yet another heinous attack on Jewish-owned business.”

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“As antisemitism is increasingly normalized, violence and other attacks against Jews and Jewish institutions continue to escalate around the world,” he wrote on X. “This is a moment of crisis that requires all people of good conscience to speak up and condemn hate.”

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Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, who on Saturday said “the matter must be investigated as a hate crime,” thanked Schneider and his colleagues for reaching out to “express solidarity with the restaurant and building owners” and the community at large.

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First responders were called to Nöam Restaurant in the Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood around 3:15 a.m., where they found the building ablaze, per the Montreal Gazette. The two-storey building suffered extensive damage despite the efforts of some 80 firefighters.

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Nobody was injured.

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A police spokesperson said the investigation was handed over to the arson squad because a person was seen leaving the building shortly before the fire broke out.

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The owner of the garage and car wash that sit on either side of the restaurant told the Gazette his security camera captured a lone person, likely a young man in his early 20s.

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The aftermath of an apparent arson that destroyed a popular kosher restaurant in Montreal. Photo by (Terry Newman/Postmedia)

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Police have yet to establish any motive.

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“While the investigation proceeds, Canada’s leaders should actively work to protect and bolster the Jewish community,” U.S. Ambassador to Canada Pete Hoekstra posted on X.

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Ambassador Rabbi Yehuda Kaploun, special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism at the U.S. Department of State, said this incident, on the heels of Jewish-owned bakeries in Toronto hit by gunfire last weekend, that “the time for action is now.”