Montreal Synagogue Attack: Akodad Pleads Guilty to 2024 Arson Incident

Mohamed Ilyess Akodad’s sentence has given Montreal’s Jewish community a measure of accountability, but not the full answers community leaders say they are still waiting for.

Akodad pleaded guilty in January to charges related to the Dec. 18, 2024 attack, which involved setting fire to Congregation Beth Tikvah synagogue in Dollard-des-Ormeaux and smashing glass at the nearby Federation CJA Jewish community centre.

Prison, not a community sentence

Quebec Court Judge Karine Giguère sentenced Akodad on Thursday to two years in prison, followed by three years of probation.

With credit for time already spent in custody, Akodad has 127 days left to serve.

The sentence followed a clear choice by the court between the positions put forward at sentencing. Giguère rejected the defence request for a community sentence and accepted the Crown’s request for a prison term.

Her reasoning spoke not only to the physical targets of the attack, but to the fear such crimes can send outward.

The crimes were “insidious because they don’t only impact on the immediate targets, but they also transmit a message of fear to the whole community,” Giguère said, according to the source reporting.

What happened on Dec. 18

The Dec. 18 attack centred on two Jewish community sites in Dollard-des-Ormeaux.

Congregation Beth Tikvah synagogue was set on fire. Glass was also smashed at the nearby Federation CJA Jewish community centre.

Those acts became the basis for the charges to which Akodad later pleaded guilty. The guilty plea in January established his responsibility for charges related to the attack, while Thursday’s sentence determined the punishment: prison time, then probation.

For the court, the case was not limited to property damage. Giguère’s comments framed the attack as one that carried a wider message, affecting people beyond the synagogue and community centre themselves.

A $15,000 claim in court

Akodad told the court he had been offered $15,000 by an unidentified man to set fire to two buildings and a vehicle.

He also claimed he did not know the buildings were connected to the Jewish community.

That claim did not lead the judge to accept the defence request for a sentence served in the community. Instead, the court imposed the prison term sought by the Crown.

The unidentified man described in Akodad’s account remains central to the unresolved questions around the case. Akodad has been sentenced for his role, but the broader issue of who may have arranged or financed the attack is still being pressed by community organizations.

Community groups press for answers

CIJA and Federation CJA said the ruling was an important step, but urged law enforcement to keep investigating.

In their statement, the groups said the sentence showed recognition of the serious consequences of the acts on the Jewish community. But they also warned that accountability remains incomplete.

“The masterminds who orchestrated and financed this crime have still not been identified or arrested,” the organizations said.

That response captured the tension left after Thursday’s sentencing: one man has pleaded guilty and received a prison sentence, but the questions raised by his own account have not gone away.

For Congregation Beth Tikvah and Federation CJA, the attack was direct. For the broader community, Giguère said, it transmitted fear. Thursday’s sentence addressed Akodad’s role in that harm, while CIJA and Federation CJA made clear they want investigators to keep following the trail beyond him.

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