By Joel Goldenberg, The Suburban
An e-mail campaign has been taking place in recent weeks to bring awareness about incidents of crime against the religious Jewish Lubavitch community in the Côte des Neiges / Snowden area, to prompt more police involvement.
An e-mail from the Anshei Lubavitch shul, which has received numerous responses over several days, charges that police have been “passive” in reacting to several incidents, most recently the robbery of a 12-year-old boy.
“Were it not for a few volunteers that followed the perpetrators this would have been just another complaint to our police department, Station 26 which would have been swept under the rug,” the e-mail says.
Other crimes are also said to have taken place, including the breaking of windows of six Jewish homes “without any arrests being made,” the glass doors of a study being shattered and the mugging of a pregnant Jewish woman in Vezina Park.
“This is happening with greater frequency and we have had absolutely no response from the police,” the e-mail says. “We ask the police commander, Simonetta Barth, why aren’t there police patrols when it gets dark yet in the morning there are more then enough patrol cars in our neighborhood ticketing us.”
Readers of the message are encouraged in the e-mail to send their thoughts to Station 26 and the local council.
Contacted by The Suburban, Barth said she received a copy of the e-mail. “The only crime I was aware of was an event [a week ago Saturday] and that’s the only one that was reported,” she said. “A boy’s money was stolen, in the vicinity of Victoria. There were no other reports.
“We’re planning two meetings with the community — I don’t have the dates yet, but we’re in the planning stages. I’m discussing it with my socio-community officer.”
Barth said the robbery that was reported was not considered by police to be anti-Semitic. “It was a random act of violence — we’ve had this occasionally in the sector — a little bit here and there — it’s randomly and it’s not all in one area more than another. It wasn’t anyone that was targeted more than anyone else.”
Rabbi Mendel Marasow, executive director of Beth Rivkah Academy in Côte des Neiges, said his school has a very good relationship with the police.
“Having said that, there are substantial amounts of increases of crime in the neighbourhood,” he added. “There’s just no doubt about it — it’s there. It became a little more gangish — groups that walk around.”
Asked if he considered the attacks anti-Semitic or just violence, Rabbi Marasow said, “it’s violence, but Jews are very good targets.” He also welcomed the planned meetings between police and the Lubavitch community.
that was like by lag baomer parade
Yanky R. and gang
This is a correction to the article. Read the facts: Concerning your article about the situation in the Montreal community of Cote Des Nieges and the lack of response from the police and political leaders I would like to mention some points: http://www.thesuburbannews.ca/content/en/3748 Commander Simonetta Barth is being dishonest when she claims that this was the first reported incident that she was made aware of. I have attempted to contact her both via email (which I can supply) and voicemail to speak with her and she has shown a total lack of interest or concern. Mendel Marasow was quoted in… Read more »
its not true! the police are very good and cooperate very well. once in a blue moon it happens that they come a few seconds lait! they can’t be everywhere at the same time but generally they are very good!!! but there is always room for improvment! but they are pretty good!
I think the police should look out for crimes and not avoid them!!
helllooo
that pic doesn’t fit with the tory
thats a lag baomer parade
and it was actualy verry nice police.