Synagogue attack hits close to home for Quebec City mosque

MONTREAL — For leaders of a Quebec City mosque that was the site of a mass murder carried out by a lone gunman in 2017, the killings of 11 people at a Pittsburgh synagogue Saturday hit close to home.

“It reminds us of the difficult moments we went through, and it brings back some of that worry,” Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec co-founder Boufeldja Benabdallah said in an interview Monday.

The centre’s board released a statement expressing “heartfelt condolences” to Pittsburgh’s Tree of Life Synagogue, where 11 worshippers were killed at a Sabbath service.

“The madness of men once again struck our Jewish neighbours of Pittsburgh ... who were only praying in a sacred and untouchable place,” the board wrote in the statement.

“This act is of enormous gravity and cannot leave us indifferent,” it continued. “Today we understand very well the pain that Jewish families feel, and we are wholeheartedly with them.”

In Quebec City, six worshippers were killed and 19 others were injured in the January 2017 attack at a mosque.

In the months since the attack, Benabdallah said, a new reality has set in at the mosque. Open doors have given way to concrete barriers near the front door, magnetized locks and security cameras.

“What more can we do? It’s terrible,” Benabdallah said. “Are we going to keep on living like this, barricaded?”

But he acknowledged such measures are necessary “until such time as things calm down and return to normal.”

Benabdallah said it’s up to citizens to denounce such violence and the weapons used to perpetrate it.

Just last Thursday, Benabdallah was part of a coalition advocating for a ban on handguns and assault rifles during a meeting with federal lawmakers in Montreal.

Benabdallah said he was overcome by sadness, shock and worry when he heard of Saturday’s attack.

“It was very sad for me to know others have been the victim of such an attack, and so many have unjustly lost their lives,” he said.

He immediately reached out to members of Quebec City’s small Jewish community — a group that came to the aid of the local Muslim community when the mosque was attacked.

Major multi-faith vigils are planned for Monday night in Canada at Toronto’s Mel Lastman Square and Montreal’s Beth Israel Beth Aaron synagogue.

The events in the two cities with Canada’s largest Jewish populations follow gatherings across Canada during the weekend to commemorate the Pittsburgh victims.

In Ottawa, more than 300 people packed into the Soloway Jewish Community Centre for a Sunday evening memorial service, lining the walls and taking every available chair — except 11, left vacant on the stage.

Dena Libman, whose cousin Joyce Fienberg was among those killed, addressed the crowd of residents, religious leaders and politicians from all parties and levels of government.

She said that in the Jewish world, it feels like everyone is a member of the same family — it’s just that some are closer. Fienberg grew up in Toronto.

Montreal Rabbi Reuben Poupko, who is originally from Pittsburgh, said no Jewish community was left untouched by the shooting.

He said Monday’s Montreal event will be a chance for community members to draw hope and strength from each other.