Israel’s ambassador to Canada ‘extremely concerned’ by Palestinian tribunal hosted by Senate

Iddo Moed, Israeli Ambassador to Canada. Photo by Jean Levac /Postmedia

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Iddo Moed says he is “extremely concerned” that a Palestinian tribunal was hosted by the Senate of Canada earlier this month.

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Israel’s ambassador to Canada was in Ottawa on Monday evening, taking part in the Standing Senate Committee on Human Rights. During the meeting, Moed was asked by Quebec Senator Leo Housakos how Israel viewed the Senate, in particular, after it hosted the tribunal.

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“We are extremely concerned about such a phenomenon,” said Moed. “We understand the rules of democracy, the freedom of speech and all of that. But as I said earlier, we are in a new reality. In this new reality, these kinds of incidents have an impact, and so it’s different than just having a broad discussion and allowing people to come up with extreme views.”

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The two-day tribunal took place on Nov. 14 and Nov. 15. It was condemned by Jewish advocacy group Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs. It featured panelists who were not allowed into the country by Canada Border Services Agency, who denied the 9/11 terrorist attack, and who believed that the Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack in France in 2015 was committed by its own government, rather than the Islamic Brotherhood, said Housakos.

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Gunman walk past police officer Ahmed Merabet moments after shooting him at point blank range outside the offices of French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris on Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2015.

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Moed said “such acceptance may give rise to expressions of hatred by other parts of the public and repeating messages that are inflammatory, that are hateful, that are discriminatory.” He said that although people should be able to speak freely “within the law,” there are ongoing discussions of how to conserve democracy while protecting “citizens from hateful speech, from brainwashing, from misinformation and disinformation.”

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“This is one of the biggest challenges of these times, and we face that, and I would only say that the best way to do it is to do it together and share our experiences,” he said.

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The committee on Monday also heard from Jewish women’s advocate Talia Klein Leighton. She is the president of nonprofit group Canadian Women Against Antisemitism. She responded to a question about whether or not public institutions, such as universities and governments and municipalities, were letting down Jewish people.

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“I think that there is a total lack of law enforcement of these marauders who are on the university campuses, who are in the streets of Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver and so on,” she said. “And I think this lack of law enforcement, plus the statements that are made by faculty associations, by unions, has created an environment of absolute permissiveness, so that it is socially acceptable right now to be an antisemite.”

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Rachel Cook, a Jewish law student at the University of Alberta, told the committee that there is “an institutional coddling of people who have views that the administration agrees with.” After October 7, Cook asked the university to display a menorah alongside a Christmas tree. Rather than displaying both, the university removed the tree. (A menorah holds candles that are lit during the eight nights of Hanukkah, a Jewish holiday which usually falls around the same time as Christmas. It is referred to as the Festival of Lights.)