Montreal kosher bakery owner describes 'nightmare' of 2 arson attacks in 48 hours
Nov 7, 2026
You ready for this? Just be careful,
it's very hard to breathe and there's a lot of debris.
Jenny Volbsen enters what's left of her bakery.
She sees her life investments
gone up in smoke, her family's hard work reduced to ashes.
It feels surreal.
It feels like a nightmare
scene from a horror movie, but I'm living it.
In the early hours of Wednesday,
Wolfson says she was alerted by her security system
someone broke into her shop through the back.
scene from a horror movie.
All I saw on my camera was just a big explosion.
This follows another arson attempt on Monday.
Wolfson says the fire then was quickly contained
with no major damage, unlike now.
It's a total loss.
There's nothing to save.
It's not the first time the strip mall
in Montreal's Saint-Henri Borough has been the target of vandalism.
In March, police opened an investigation after swastikas
were painted on neighboring businesses.
While that investigation is still ongoing, for now,
police don't believe it is linked to Wednesday's fire.
Montreal police say investigators are looking for a motive
and all possibilities are being evaluated, including hate.
It's a community that feels vulnerable.
Neighbors say there have
been several recent attacks on the Jewish community
and they'd like to see more protection.
And we need to have a plan that protects all institutions,
all businesses, all community.
The Borough Mayor says they are working with police.
He says local public security will continue
to keep an eye on the Jewish community.
We want to make sure that they realize
that if they see something that is a problem,
that they can call us, they can alert us.
As for Wolfson, she says she doesn't know for sure
if her business was targeted because her family is Jewish.
But she has received anti-Semitic threats in the past
and is feeling nervous for herself and others.
What's going to happen next? Somebody's going to get murdered?
She says more needs to be done to ensure safety.

