After Marc Shade heard that Gutnick Mazal Jewish Centre was vandalized last week, he decided that he wanted to help.
“I wanted to find out if they had a security system and if they did, why it wasn’t working and if there was anything we could do,” he explained.
“Of course, it turned out, they didn’t have one. I immediately said we’re here, this is our community, I know enough people in the community that we should be able to step in and help out.”
Shade launched a GoFundMe page in hopes of raising enough money to set the centre up with a proper security system.
The response was immediate.
“About a day and a half or two days after I had set up the account, the head of the centre called me up and said someone stepped forward and is going to pay for the whole thing,” said Shade.
After the graffiti attack, the centre’s rabbi called the incident disappointing.
“I think it’s unfortunate and it’s a shame, but we are comfortable in the community – as you see our camp is going on, activities continue as usual and we’re very comfortable here in the community,” said Rabbi Yehoshua Yarmush.
With the new effort, the community hopes to regain a sense of safety.
Although Shade admits the new system won’t guarantee another incident from happening again.
“Hopefully it’s a deterrent and at least our neighbourhood is a bit safer,” he said.
The consensus is that the area is usually safe.
However, Shaul Patel, who’s lived nearby for over 15 years, said he’s relieved to hear that the centre is taking the steps to be more secure.
“I think it’s a great idea because if there is security then people will be thinking twice before doing any bad things,” said Patel.
The Montreal police have handed the case to the hate crimes unit and said they are taking the incident seriously.
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