SAINT-ADOLPHE-D'HOWARD, Que. - The Miramont holiday resort is set back in the woods at the isolated end of a small Laurentian lake. But even though it is out of sight of almost the entire population, townspeople cannot put it out of their minds following the resort's recent purchase by a group of Hasidic Jews from Montreal.

Town manager Michel Binette recently told a television reporter that people are anxious about the arrival of a group "that might not integrate into the Saint-Adolphe community, with the result that the property would be ghettoized." In a subsequent news release, Mayor Pierre Roy said his town manager had gone a bit far but acknowledged that residents were concerned when they first heard rumours that Miramont was going to be sold to Jews.

"Residents are aware of legal battles that a neighbouring Laurentian municipality is experiencing with property owners from the Jewish community," Mr. Roy said, referring to a Hasidic synagogue in nearby Val Morin built on land zoned for residences.

The controversy over Miramont follows apparent arson attacks last month on three Hasidic-owned cottages in the town of Val David, just up the road from Saint-Adolphe, which is 80 kilometres northwest of Montreal.

Provincial police have not made any arrests in the suspected arsons, but community leaders believe the fires were hate crimes. For one leader of Montreal's Hasidic community, Alex Werzberger, the climate is reminiscent of decades past when fashionable Laurentians resorts explicitly excluded Jews.

"They don't want them there, plain and simple. You know what they say, if it walks like a duck and it talks like a duck, it must be a duck," Mr. Werzberger said. "The message is, these guys bring trouble wherever they go. If you can get more anti-Semitic than that, I want to know how."

Mr. Werzberger, who is president of the Coalition of Outremont Hasidic Organizations, said the Orthodox Jews of his community stand out by their appearance, exposing them to frequent ridicule.

Their fervent religious belief seems outmoded to modern francophone Quebecers, who for the most part have abandoned the Church.

Add to that the population boom caused when Hasidic families average eight or nine children each, and you have a recipe for tension.

"We are ready to integrate but not to assimilate. We're going to keep our beliefs and our customs and our kosher butcher and what have you," Mr. Werzberger said. "The French-Canadians have given up on religion, but we haven't and we don't intend to."

Saint-Adolphe has not completely given up on religion, or at least it puts its Christian heritage proudly on display. The dominant landmark on the town's main street is its blue-steepled, century-old church, spectacular enough to attract tour buses. In a lakefront park across the street, there is a gilded statue of Jesus with outstretched arms above the inscription, "Sacred heart of Jesus, I have confidence in you."

While Saint-Adolphe has not exactly rolled out the welcome mat for the Hasidim who will use Miramont as a summer vacation spot, neither have the resort's new owners gone out of their way to smooth relations.

One of their first acts was to circle the property, including the lakefront, in a wire fence of the kind used around construction sites.

The owners, who did not return calls requesting an interview, have said it is a temporary measure to ensure children do not wander off into the water or onto the highway.

The town says the fence is illegal.

A reporter who visited last week was promptly asked to leave by a man who declined to give his name or comment on the controversy, beyond saying, "We are peaceful people."

Denis Houle, who has a cottage a few properties away from Miramont, said he is happy the long-empty resort is occupied. But he wants municipal bylaws to be respected, and he is not encouraged by a fresh heap of renovation scrap that has the makings of a dump at the edge of the Miramont property.

"I don't judge anyone," he said. "They have their religion. The way they dress is their business. Respect my rights, and I will respect theirs."

Paul Villemure, who has lived in Saint-Adolphe for 17 years, found the new fence around Miramont "a strange way to arrive." He is worried about stories he has heard from neighbouring municipalities where there are Hasidic enclaves. "They tend to follow their own rules and laws," he said.

But he figures the municipality has an ace up its sleeve.

On the opposite shore of Lac de la Montagne from Miramont sits a large cottage, with a Place du Quebec sign at the entrance and a fleur-de-lys on the flagpole. It belongs to Lisette Lapointe, a Parti Quebecois MNA, and her husband, former PQ premier Jacques Parizeau, who resigned after his infamous speech blaming the 1995 referendum loss on "money and the ethnic vote."

Mr. Villemure is confident the couple would never allow things to get out of hand at Miramont.

© 2008 The National Post Company. All rights reserved.

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