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April 16, 2004/Nisan 25 5764, Vol. 56, No. 30
Quebec leader reassures Jews
BRAM EISENTHAL
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
MONTREAL - Entering the room that once housed a children's library, the premier of Quebec couldn't help but scrunch up his nose against the burnt, toxic smell.
"It will actually leave a very strong impression. This sight and smell leaves a lasting impression of how violent a gesture this was," Jean Charest told reporters following his April 8 visit to Montreal's United Talmud Torah.
Firebombed early on the morning of April 5, the school reeked of burned children's books and plastic, making it nearly impossible to stay inside for more than a few minutes.
A note left at the scene of the arson reportedly said the attack was retribution for Israel's recent killing of Hamas leader Sheik Ahmed Yassin and was just a taste of things to come.
Police have tightened security at local synagogues and mosques following the attack.
The heightened security came as some parents of students at the school said the attack was reminiscent of book burnings in Nazi Germany.
"My sons are in shock and so am I," Joel Greenberg, a parent of one of the students, told JTA. "I am very worried about their safety from here on in."
Politicians, community leaders and letters to the editor all condemned the attack.
The city's Sun Youth community organization has offered a $15,000 cash reward to anyone who provides information leading to the arrests of the perpetrators.
Police reportedly had leads into the perpetrators' identities, but say they don't know the group that claimed responsibility on the note left at the school.
B'nai Brith Canada issued a statement on April 5 calling on the government to do more to protect Jewish sites.
"We acknowledge and appreciate the condemnation by politicians of all backgrounds," but "words are meaningless if not accompanied by action," said Frank Dimant, the group's executive vice president.
The incident occurred a few weeks after a rash of anti-Semitic incidents, including graffiti spray-painted on homes, in a Jewish neighborhood in Toronto, and after a report showed a rise in anti-Semitic incidents across Canada.
Prime Minister Paul Martin met in Ottawa several weeks ago with members of major Jewish organizations, who expressed their concern about a growing tide of anti-Semitism in Canada.
The groups included the Canadian Jewish Congress, B'nai Brith Canada, United Israel Appeal, the Simon Wiesenthal Center and the leadership of several of Canada's Jewish federations.
The government is finishing a plan to establish a hate crimes police force across the country and to establish initiatives to combat racist attitudes, Justice Minister Irwin Cotler said.
Cotler described the plan as "an effective and comprehen-sive approach" that will help to "mobilize a constituency of conscience in this country."
The heads of two leading Islamic organizations, Salam Elmenyawi, of the Muslim Council of Montreal, and Mohamed Elmasry, of the Canadian Islamic Congress, condemned the attack. Elmasry called it a hate crime, adding that "the agony will be double if it was committed by a Muslim."
Charest's visit to the school, which lasted slightly more than an hour, was intended primarily to reassure students, parents and faculty that his Liberal government was doing everything possible to ensure that such an attack would not happen again.
After seeing the ruined library, Charest spent about 20 minutes with a class of sixth-graders who had been gathered specially to meet him, although the school is closed until April 15 because of Passover.
He answered questions from students and reassured them that they would receive "as much help as necessary" to get the library reopened - by April 15, he promised.
No total damage figure is available yet, but school officials estimate it will cost some $225,000 just to replace the damaged books. The provincial government will pick up part of the cost, Charest said.
It was clear that the students had spent a lot of time pondering the broader ramifications of the attack.
"I feel like this will not become another Holocaust, because this time people understand what's going on," a girl named Jillian told Charest.
Charest praised the educational role of the Montreal Holocaust Museum, adding that during the Holocaust era, "people who were in a leadership position should have been less tolerant of what went on."
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