Montreal police officers were called over the past Saturday to a series of illegal gatherings that violated public health restrictions in the Outermont area.At least three of the gatherings were prayer services that included more than the dozen worshipers in a closed structure permitted by local law. According to local police, each of the places was a synagogue.
The worshipers, who are members of the Haredi communities in the area, were angry with the police and confronted them violently. Some of the officers needed medical attention. Police nevertheless persisted and each worshipper received a fine ranging from $ 1,500 to $ 6,000.
News reports in Canada quoted some of the worshipers. One of them said that "the police acted brutally against people who simply wanted to pray. In my synagogue there were several rooms and in each there were ten worshipers."
Another worshiper said, "The police have behaved as the Nazis once did. This is not the way people who keep their religious precepts behave."
The Council of Hassidic Communities in Quebec issued a statement strongly condemning the violence against the police, but at the same time also chastising the worshipers. "We are sorry that some members of the communities have not complied with public health regulations limiting up to ten the number of people who can be present at a synagogue at the same time." However, according to the council, "the existing guidelines allow for the opening of several prayer rooms in the same building as long as the same building has separate entrances on the street. The police misunderstood regulations.”
The local authorities said that an explicit order had been issued on the matter and it appeared that the Hassidic communities, who had been notified, did not properly publicize the new orders.