A pro-Palestinian demonstrator playing drums in front of an Israel flag drenched in fake blood amid an anti-Israel protest, Montreal, Canada, May 16, 2026. Photo: Giordanno Brumas / SOPA Images via Reuters Connect

A Jewish-owned Montreal bakery was targeted in two arson attacks within less than 48 hours, with the second blaze destroying the family-owned business in what authorities believe was an antisemitic attack — the latest in a growing wave of violent incidents targeting Jews and Israelis across Canada.

According to the Montreal Gazette, Mimimelon — a Jewish-owned bakery in downtown Montreal — was set ablaze around 12:30 am Wednesday, leaving the family business completely destroyed just days after it survived a previous arson attempt.

Bakery owner Jennie Volfson was alerted to the second blaze by her security company, prompting her to immediately request an emergency response, but the flames had already caused extensive damage by the time firefighters arrived. No injuries were reported.

Montreal’s hate crimes unit has launched an investigation into both incidents, examining the bakery’s ties to the Jewish community as a possible motive for the crimes amid growing concerns over antisemitic violence in the city.

Investigators found indications that the second fire was also deliberately set and are examining nearby surveillance footage to identify those responsible, as it remains unclear whether the bakery’s security cameras captured footage that can be retrieved.

“Do I have to worry now for my own personal safety?” Volfson told The Montreal Gazette. “Is there something directed at me? Is there something directed at my family?”

As the investigation continues, Volfson also alerted police to a separate incident in mid-September, when an unidentified, masked individual entered the bakery and shouted, “All the Jews will burn,” before fleeing, with no surveillance footage available to identify the individual.

“We’re kind of used to the hatred that we get,” she said.

Authorities have not yet determined whether the September incident is connected to this week’s arson attacks but said police patrols in the area would be increased over the coming days.

The first attack unfolded around 11:30 pm Monday, when Volfson’s security company alerted her to someone tampering with the bakery’s rear door before attempting to break in, splashing liquid against the building’s exterior, setting it ablaze, then fleeing the scene.

Thanks to firefighters’ swift response, the blaze was contained before reaching the bakery’s interior, with Volfson later handing over surveillance footage of the attack to police.

“It feels like a scene from some kind of a horror film,” she said. “I don’t feel it’s real.”

Since purchasing Mimimelon in January 2015, Volfson has run the family bakery alongside her husband and father-in-law, serving the local community for more than a decade before the two fires left the business in ruins.

With the future of the bakery uncertain, Volfson said it was too early to know whether it could reopen, but she hopes to continue offering at least some services with help from neighboring businesses.

Like much of the Western world, Canada has seen a rise in antisemitic incidents over the past three years, in the wake of the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Violent antisemitic attacks across Canada surged at an alarming pace during the first half of 2026, with the number already more than double the total recorded in all of last year and putting the country on track for its most violent year for the Jewish community in recent memory.

According to a report released in July by the Jewish advocacy group B’nai Brith Canada, 27 violent antisemitic incidents targeting Jewish individuals and institutions had been documented nationwide since the start of 2026 — more than twice the 10 violent attacks recorded throughout all of 2025.

The midyear count trailed only the record 77 violent incidents documented in 2023 and had already surpassed the full-year totals for 2022, 2024, and 2025 — underscoring how sharply anti-Jewish violence had escalated in just six months.