Rabbi Andrew Rosenblatt said people were inside the Schara Tzedeck synagogue on VancouverB次元官网网址檚 Oak Street after services around 9:20 p.m. on Thursday when they heard a B次元官网网址渂angB次元官网网址� outside.

But it was a passerby who alerted them that their building was on fire, before a member of the synagogue put out the flames with his jacket, said Rosenblatt while pointing to the scorched front door on Friday morning.

The Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver said the fire was an arson attack, caused B次元官网网址渂y an individual who poured fuel on the front doors and set them on fire.B次元官网网址�

It earlier said the damage was due to an B次元官网网址渋ncendiary device.B次元官网网址�

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called the attack a B次元官网网址渄isgusting act of antisemitism.B次元官网网址�

Vancouver police said the case was being investigated as an act of arson and a possible hate crime.

There was a strong smell of burning inside the synagogue Friday, but the charring did not appear to have made it far inside the front doors.

B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e glad we didnB次元官网网址檛 wake up to a pile of ashes,B次元官网网址� Rosenblatt said outside the building.

He said he was told the flames reached the second storey of the synagogue before being put out.

Rosenblatt said he was struck that there was no attempt to make the attack B次元官网网址渃landestine.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淪omebody decided it was OK to just walk up these stairs,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淵ou could have picked a spot on the back of the synagogue.B次元官网网址�

He said the attack showed there was a B次元官网网址渘ew permission structureB次元官网网址� about how Jewish people were treated in Canada.

B次元官网网址淢y grandfather was the cantor of a synagogue that burned down on Kristallnacht,B次元官网网址� he said, referring to the 1938 pogrom against Jews in Nazi Germany.

B次元官网网址淚 thought he was the last rabbi in our family to have to deal with a synagogue that was going to be torched. I guess I was mistaken.B次元官网网址�

The federation said in a statement posted online that the damage to Schara Tzedeck synagogue was minor and no one was hurt.

It called the incident a B次元官网网址渄eliberate act of hateB次元官网网址� and an B次元官网网址渁ttempt to intimidateB次元官网网址� the Jewish community.

Trudeau said on social media platform X: B次元官网网址淎 synagogue in Vancouver was attacked last night in another disgusting act of antisemitism. We cannot let this hate or these acts of violence stand. This is not the Canada we want to be.B次元官网网址�

CanadaB次元官网网址檚 special envoy for combating antisemitism, Deborah Lyons, called it B次元官网网址渉orrible newsB次元官网网址� and said on social media that B次元官网网址渋ncendiary rhetoric leads to incendiary violence.B次元官网网址�

The Jewish federation said the Vancouver Police Department and a fire inspector searched the building before declaring it safe to be reopened.

Vancouver police said in a statement that authorities have B次元官网网址渕obilized additional officers to Jewish community centres, schools, and religious institutions.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭his fire was intentionally set at a place of worship for the Jewish community,B次元官网网址� Const. Tania Visintin said in a statement. B次元官网网址淲hile we collect evidence to identify the person responsible, weB次元官网网址檙e also working closely with faith leaders and community members to ensure everyoneB次元官网网址檚 safety.B次元官网网址�

She added: B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檙e doing everything in our power to solve this crime, while providing reassurance, comfort, and safety to the community.B次元官网网址�

A police car and officers were outside the synagogue on Friday morning.

The federation said extra police patrols were being put in place at local Jewish institutions.

The incident comes after bullet holes were found at two Jewish schools in Montreal and Toronto in recent days. Nobody was hurt in either incident.

Lyons said on social media that it is B次元官网网址減ast time to stand upB次元官网网址� against the incidents.

B次元官网网址淭hree Jewish institutions in three major cities this week have been attacked, and more over the months since HamasB次元官网网址檚 horrific massacre on Oct. 7. There is no excuse for silence or inaction,B次元官网网址� she said.

She said the law must be enforced and B次元官网网址渋ncidents of hateB次元官网网址� could not go unanswered.

B次元官网网址淚t means that incitement and violent rhetoric must be met with consequences. It means that capitulation to unreasonable or threatening demands must end.B次元官网网址�

Liberal MP Anthony Housefather, an outspoken voice against antisemitism, called on his party to change the Criminal Code in response to the rash of violent incidents targeting Jewish gathering places.

B次元官网网址淎t this point, condemnation is not enough,B次元官网网址� Housefather said in a speech to the House of Commons Friday, citing the incidents in Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto.

B次元官网网址淎ll levels of government need to do more, immediately.B次元官网网址�

He suggested creating safe zones around schools and places of worship where protests are not allowed, just as the government did for hospitals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The idea was also floated in Toronto months ago by a local city councillor.

Housefather also called for the group Samidoun and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, a branch of IranB次元官网网址檚 military, to be labelled as terrorist groups.

The foreign affairs minister has asked Public Safety Canada to explore the possibility of listing the IRGC as a terrorist organization, but Trudeau raised concerns it would punish Canadians who were drafted into IranB次元官网网址檚 military by force.

HousefatherB次元官网网址檚 comments were met with a standing ovation in the House.

Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center issued a statement saying it was B次元官网网址渁ppalled by last nightB次元官网网址檚 violent attack against a Vancouver synagogue.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭his marks the third such incident in the past six days in Canada, following shootings at Jewish schools in Toronto and Montreal. This comes as the country continues to experience surging anti-Jewish incidents since the Hamas atrocities in Israel last October.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淎bsolutely appalled by last nightB次元官网网址檚 violent attack against a Vancouver synagogue,B次元官网网址� centre president Michael Levitt said on X, adding, B次元官网网址渨hen is enough, enough?B次元官网网址�

B.C. Premier David Eby issued a statement condemning the incident, which he described as an B次元官网网址渁rson attack.B次元官网网址�

B次元官网网址淭his disguising act of antisemitism is reprehensible (and) has absolutely no place in B.C.,B次元官网网址� the statement said, adding Eby was relieved to hear no one was hurt.

Liberal MP Taleeb Noormohamed said on X that he was B次元官网网址渇uriousB次元官网网址� to hear about the incident in his riding, which encompasses the synagogue.

B次元官网网址淭here is no justification for a synagogue to be attacked. None,B次元官网网址� he said.