MONTREAL, Quebec – A 20-year-old man who set fire to a Montreal-area synagogue and smashed windows at a nearby Jewish community center has been sentenced to two years in prison, while a significant question remains unanswered: who allegedly paid him to carry out the attacks?
Quebec Court Judge Karine Giguรจre sentenced Mohamed Ilyess Akodad on Sept. 10 for offenses stemming from the Dec. 18, 2024 attack on Congregation Beth Tikvah in Dollard-des-Ormeaux and vandalism at a nearby Federation CJA community center.
Akodad received two years in prison, followed by three years of probation and 100 hours of community service. After receiving credit for time already spent in custody, he has approximately 127 days remaining on his prison sentence. He was also ordered to pay $7,560 in restitution.
Akodad had pleaded guilty in January to arson, mischief and possession of incendiary material.
The case has drawn particular attention within Montreal’s Jewish community because both buildings targeted that night were Jewish institutions and because Akodad testified that he had been recruited and offered thousands of dollars to carry out the attacks.
A Paid “Mission”
During his sentencing hearing, Akodad testified that an unidentified person offered him $15,000 for what he described as a “mission” involving two buildings and a vehicle.
He ultimately received $3,000, according to his testimony.
Akodad said he was struggling with cannabis and codeine use at the time and claimed he did not know the buildings he was attacking were Jewish institutions. He said he only learned of their Jewish affiliation after the attacks generated public attention.
The court did not conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that Akodad knew he was attacking Jewish institutions.
That finding is important in determining how the case should be characterized. The offenses themselves are established. Akodad admitted setting fire to the synagogue and damaging the Jewish community center. What has not been established by the court is that he personally selected the targets because they were Jewish.
The distinction does not change what happened to the institutions or the impact on the Jewish community.
Giguรจre said the offenses had consequences extending beyond the immediate property damage, describing them as “insidious” because they transmitted fear throughout the broader community.
Jewish Community Welcomes Prison Sentence
B’nai Brith Canada welcomed the sentence, saying incarceration sends an important message about attacks on Jewish institutions.
Henry Topas, who served as B’nai Brith Canada’s regional director for Quebec and Atlantic Canada at the time of the offenses and is also a cantor at Congregation Beth Tikvah, said Canadians need confidence that attacks on houses of worship and communal institutions will result in accountability.
“A sentence that includes incarceration sends a clear message that targeting houses of worship or Jewish communal infrastructure will not be tolerated in our society,” Topas said.
The attack occurred during a period of heightened security concerns among Canadian Jewish communities and was particularly disturbing for Beth Tikvah because the congregation had previously been targeted.
Community representatives told the court during the sentencing process about the fear generated by the attack. At a June hearing, Jewish representatives described an escalating sense of insecurity following attacks against communal institutions.
Who Ordered The Attacks?
Akodad’s sentencing resolves his criminal responsibility, but it leaves one of the case’s most consequential questions unanswered.
According to his testimony, he did not devise the operation himself. He said someone offered him $15,000 to attack three targets, provided transportation, and supplied what was needed to carry out the offenses.
The alleged organizer has not been publicly identified or charged.
That unresolved element has also raised concerns among Jewish advocacy organizations. Reporting following the sentence cited the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs as saying that those who orchestrated and financed the crime have still not been identified or arrested.
Determining who selected Congregation Beth Tikvah and the Federation CJA facility as targets, and why, could be critical to understanding the broader motivation behind the attacks.
Akodad’s claim that he did not know the buildings were Jewish addresses his own state of mind. It does not establish the motive of whoever allegedly selected the targets and offered him money.
For that reason, the sentencing closes one chapter of the case but does not necessarily answer the central question confronting Montreal’s Jewish community: why were two Jewish institutions selected for a paid attack, and who selected them?
TheJ.ca receives no government money. Independent journalism depends on readers who believe these stories must be told. Consider supporting our efforts.
Stand Proud. Stand Strong. Stand Zionist.
