The driver allegedly yelled "I won't move for any f***ing Jews" and got out of the car when the victim tried to take a photo of the taxi number.

An altercation caught on video between two individuals in a parking lot is being described as a hate crime by B’nai Brith Canada, a Jewish human rights advocacy organization.

The video depicts a man taking a photo of a Taxi Champlain driver, who then gets out of the car and punches the victim repeatedly until someone intervenes.

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According to B’nai Brith, the victim was waiting for the taxi to move from the entrance of the building’s underground garage when the driver allegedly yelled “I won’t move for any f—ing Jews.”

“This is a shocking anti-Semitic hate crime, in which someone could have been gravely injured or even killed,” Michael Mostyn, chief executive officer of B’nai Brith Canada, said in an email. “Our thanks as a community go out to the good Samaritan who stepped in before this event became even uglier.”

The victim, who wears a kippah, allegedly wanted to take a photo of the taxi to file a complaint about the comment. B’nai Brith’s email states he sustained minor injuries.

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Taxi Champlain president George Boussios told Presse canadienne the driver was fired as soon as the company was made aware of the incident. “We do not tolerate aggression, anti-Semitism and racism. Taxi Champlain was basically built by the Jews of Outremont, they make up most of our clients,” he said.

The SPVM would not comment on the incident, but the spokesperson for the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, David Ouellette, said the SPVM told them the incident is being investigated as a hate crime.

“(Taxi Champlain) just conveyed their apologies to the Jewish community for the incident and informed us that they immediately fired the driver upon learning about (it),” Ouellette said. “They also told us that the Montreal Taxi Bureau is revoking (the driver’s) permit.”

In Quebec, the number of reported anti-Semitic incidents saw a significant increase from 2017 to 2018, according to B’nai Brith. In 2017 there were 474, compared to 709 the following year.

“The truth of the matter is that for several years now Stats Canada has shown that the Jewish community remains the most targeted group in terms of hate crimes,” Ouellette said. “We’re gratified by Champlain Taxi’s swift response to this alleged anti-Semitic incident.”

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