Sentencing Hearing in Montreal Synagogue Arson Case
- Mark Sandler
- 4 days ago
- 3 min read
On Tuesday, June 30, a sentencing hearing was conducted in a Montreal courtroom respecting Mohamed Ilyess Akodad, a 20-year-old man who pleaded guilty to arson and mischief relating to his firebombing Congregation Beth Tikvah synagogue and damaging the nearby Federation CJA community centre in December 2024.
Akodad told the sentencing judge that he was offered a "mission" to set fire to two buildings and a vehicle for $15,000, claiming that he was unaware that the targets were connected to the Jewish community. He indicated that he followed the instructions of a driver he was provided to douse the synagogue's wooden doors with gasoline and ignite them. He said the resulting explosion nearly killed him.
He was unable to set the community centre on fire, panicked, and failed to finish the job and collected only $3,000. He said he was addicted to drugs at the time and was high at the time. His crimes caused over $7,000 in damages. Of course, the impact on the Jewish community, as described by two community leaders, was substantial. Beth Tikvah had previously been firebombed with a Molotov cocktail.
The prosecution is seeking a 24-month jail sentence, minus time the accused has already served in custody (the equivalent of ten months). The defence is requesting a conditional sentence (often referred to as house arrest) in light of the time served.
The accused was tearful through much of his testimony and addressed the community directly. The court will have to evaluate the extent to which a deterrent sentence must be imposed, given the seriousness of the conduct and its impact on our community, despite some mitigating factors.
The more troubling issue is that the most culpable participants, namely those who planned and paid for this accused's crimes and provided him with on-the-scene instructions, remain, to date, unidentified – at least, publicly – and unpunished. This is just the latest example of attacks on Jewish institutions and community members orchestrated by agents of terror.
There is evidence that some of these attacks are initiated by foreign state proxies, particularly Iran. Prime Minister Carney recently raised the possibility that Canada would restore diplomatic relations with Iran. He said that engagement is not endorsement. Respectfully, that misses the point.
This isn't about whether Canada endorses Iran's policies. Iran continues to target for violence and even assassination Canadians, including Jews and Iranian dissidents. It is the world's leading state sponsor of terror around the world. It continues to kill, imprison and torture its own citizens. We don't legitimize designated terror organizations by granting them diplomatic status.
This equally should be true for a terror regime, particularly when it is effectively governed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, also listed by Canada as a terror entity.
-30-
About the Author
Mark Sandler, LL.B., LL.D. (honoris causa), ALCCA’s Chair, is widely recognized as one of Canada’s leading criminal lawyers and pro bono advocates. He has been involved in combatting antisemitism for over 40 years. He has lectured extensively on legal remedies to combat hate and has promoted respectful Muslim-Jewish, Sikh-Jewish and Black-Jewish dialogues. He has appeared before Parliamentary committees and in the Supreme Court of Canada on multiple occasions on issues relating to antisemitism and hate activities. He is a former member of the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal, a three-time elected Bencher of the Law Society of Ontario, and recipient of the criminal profession’s highest honour, the G. Arthur Martin Medal, for his contributions to the administration of criminal justice.