On September 20, 2026, our Jewish community gathered at Sons of Jacob Synagogue in Belleville, Ontario, to observe Yom Kippur, one of the holiest days of the Jewish year.

Instead, our synagogue was attacked.

A gunman opened fire toward the synagogue, with bullets striking the building and piercing its windows as our community gathered inside.

A Belleville Police officer stationed outside bravely confronted the gunman, putting himself directly between the attacker and our community. No one inside the synagogue was physically injured, and we will forever be grateful to the police officers, Const. Jeff Smith and Const. Michael McCurdy who put his lives on the line to protect ours.

Const. Jeff Smith was seriously wounded and remains in our thoughts and prayers. A separate fundraiser has been established to support him and his family, and we wholeheartedly encourage support for that effort as well.

Const. Jeff Smith https://gofund.me/1a2736000 and

Const. Michael McCurdy https://gofund.me/f9d6ef859

Now, we are asking for your help to protect the community he helped save.

Sons of Jacob may be a small synagogue, but it has been the heart of Jewish life in the Bay of Quinte for generations. Professional estimates put the essential security work needed at approximately $90,000, and foundational work to maintain the integrity of the building itself at a minimum of 30k.

Every donation will help us get closer:

$25 helps. $100 helps. $500 helps. $1,000 helps. Every gift matters.

This is about more than repairing what was damaged. It is about ensuring our children can grow up with a Jewish community they are proud of, families can gather for Shabbat and holidays, and our elders can walk through these doors feeling safe.

We are reaching out to our Jewish community across Canada, Israel and around the world, and to everyone who believes people should be able to worship and gather without fear.

Please donate today and help us reach our $120,000 goal.

If we are fortunate enough to exceed our goal, additional funds will help Sons of Jacob continue to strengthen the synagogue and Jewish life in our community.

And if you cannot donate, please share this campaign with your family, friends, synagogue and community.

We will rebuild. We will make our synagogue safer. And we will continue to gather and celebrate Jewish life.

From all of us at Sons of Jacob, thank you for standing with our community.

**Update 1

First, thank you.

When we launched this campaign, we set a goal of $90,000 to cover the initial assesment of the essential security work needed to make Sons of Jacob Synagogue safe for our community to gather again.

Because of your incredible generosity, we are reaching that goal.

For a small synagogue like ours, this has been extraordinary. People from Belleville, across Canada, Israel and communities around the world have stepped forward to support us.

We are deeply grateful.

Over the past week, we have been able to undertake a much more thorough review of the synagogue, its grounds and the building itself.

That review has uncovered additional significant needs, including work related to the building's foundation and other critical repairs and improvements that had simply not been financially possible for the synagogue to undertake before. If we are going to invest in making Sons of Jacob safe, we want to make sure we are also giving the building itself the care it needs to remain a strong and lasting home for our community.

And we have heard from so many people who have reached out asking, “What else can we do?”

This is our answer. Help us build for what comes next

Sons of Jacob is more than the damage caused on September 20.

It is a synagogue that has served the Bay of Quinte Jewish community for generations.

It is where children become B'nai Mitzvah.

Where families gather for Shabbat and holidays.

Where people come to pray, learn, celebrate and mourn.

Where generations of Jewish life have taken place.

Our goal now is to raise $120,000 to address the essential security work, the newly identified building needs and other critical work that will help ensure Sons of Jacob has a solid foundation for the future.

Thank you for standing with us.

Thank you for believing in our community.

And thank you for helping us rebuild.