Montreal Loves Jewish Culture. Now Try Protecting Jews.
Jews didn’t just “exist” in Montreal. They shaped it.
They helped build the city’s hospitals, its literature, its food culture, its neighbourhoods, its libraries, its businesses, and its conscience.
The Jewish General Hospital opened in 1934 , built with money raised by Montreal’s Jewish community at a time when Jews were facing discrimination in health care and in medical hiring. And what did they build? Not a hospital only for themselves, a hospital that served Montrealers of every background.
The Jewish Public Library opened in 1914 on St. Urbain, starting with a small collection and becoming a major centre for Jewish learning, Yiddish culture, literature, memory, archives, and community life.
The bagels everyone worships, and debates as if anyone actually cares about their opinion, did not fall from the sky. Montreal’s first bagel bakery was opened in 1919 by Isadore Shlafman , a Jewish immigrant, near Saint-Laurent Boulevard. So every time this city acts like bagels are part of its sacred identity, yes, thank the Jews.
The writers, the artists, the schools, the community centres, the Holocaust memory work, the businesses, the hospitals, and yes, even the hot Jewish girlies of VSL , all of that is part of Montreal’s soul.
And maybe we can also get an Aroma Espresso Bar on Marcel-Laurin instead of that Tim Hortons , because to be honest, it is becoming ewy and spiritually unacceptable.
And the irony?
A community that helped build so much of this city still has to worry about synagogues, schools, and community buildings being attacked.
That is disgusting.
The minimum Montreal owes its Jewish community is not fake tolerance.
Not empty “we stand against hate” speeches.
Not politicians posing for sympathy points.
Not fake multicultural poetry from people who disappear when Jews are targeted.
The minimum is safety .
And honestly?
Even if Jews had contributed nothing, which is obviously not the case, they would still deserve to be safe.
Because safety is not a reward for being useful.
It is a basic human right.
But in Montreal’s case, the argument is even stronger:
Jews helped shape this city. They gave to this city. They built institutions when they were excluded from others. They carried pain, memory, excellence, culture, resilience, and beauty into this city.
So yes, the absolute minimum they deserve is to live here without fear.
Not hashtags. Not speeches. Not selective outrage. Not “diversity” slogans that magically stop working when Jews are the target.
Safety.