During Kol Nidrei, Gunfire Erupts Outside a Canadian Synagogue

Gunfire was directed at a synagogue in Canada yesterday during Kol Nidrei prayers, local media reported today (Monday). About 20 worshippers were inside at the time of the shooting. No one was hurt, but Yom Kippur services were canceled. An officer guarding the site fired at the gunman and seriously wounded him. The officer himself was lightly injured.

The incident took place outside the Bnei Yaakov synagogue in the city of Belleville, Ontario. The gunman fired several rounds at the synagogue’s windows before a shootout began with the officer.

Although local police believe this was a hate crime and possibly a nationalist terrorist attack, Canadian media reported that authorities have so far refrained from determining that the shooting was motivated by antisemitism or that the synagogue or its worshippers were the shooter’s target.

Israel’s ambassador to Canada, Iddo Moed, described the shooting as a terrorist attack against the synagogue. According to him, lives were saved thanks to the officer’s courage, but “much more must be done immediately to protect the lives of members of the Jewish community.”