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Enforce the Law: Why Canada Must Hold IOF Fighters Accountable for War Crimes
By Yves Engler
My message to the NDP and others who should speak out: Stop being scared of accusations from Israel supporters of antisemitism, of targeting Canadian Jews.
A month after news surfaced about the RCMP investigating Canadians who might have committed war crimes in Gaza, genocide supporters continue to be stirred over the matter. Imagine the ability to cause panic and force the police’s hand if the NDP and others actually pushed to enforce Canadian law towards Israel.
In Saturday’s National Post there was a long interview with an Israeli defense (occupation) forces lawyer headlined “‘Political expediency’: Lawyer for IDF soldiers critical of war-crimes probe. Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch has been retained by soldiers questioned by foreign governments, as backlash grows to RCMP’s investigation.”
On the same day, Montreal lawyer and failed Conservative Party candidate Neil “cancel man” Oberman reportedly told The Suburban, “the RCMP will soon be sending him documents related to the national police agency’s probe into possible war crimes by ‘those with a nexus to Canada’ during the ongoing Israel-Gaza war.” Concurrently, the Jerusalem Post noted, “Canada confirms dual Israeli nationals could be probed for war crimes”.
On July 2, B’nai Brith was scheduled to host RCMP Assistant Commissioner Matt Peggs for a discussion on the matter. But “Inside the RCMP’s Structural Investigation into the Israel-Hamas Conflict” was canceled at the last minute. The small win was likely due to some online criticism of the police’s deference to the genocide lobby.
I mentioned the virtual town hall in an article and tagged the police in a post, noting, “RCMP seeks to assuage concerns of criminals. Next, a commissioner will speak at an event with Hell Angels associates on ‘inside the RCMP’s structural investigation into biker gangs.’”
The seriousness of the RCMP’s investigation is hard to ascertain. Taking the position that the public announcement represents a major step towards accountability, lawyer Mark Kersten responded to the recent Jerusalem Post article on the subject by noting that “the RCMP ‘does not’ open structural investigations into any/all armed conflicts as a matter of course. There is none for Sudan, Yemen, Myanmar, etc.”
Irrespective of how serious the RCMP is taking the matter, the justice minister needs to sign off on charges under the War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Act. In every respect, this is a highly political matter.
In another sign that those who’ve participated in the Israeli occupation force (IOF) are concerned Davide Mastracci recently reported on the reaction to a site he set up detailing 165 Canadians who’ve fought in the Israeli military. The editor of The Maple noted, “Since Find IDF Soldiers was released, public sources I used for soldier profiles have been disappearing.
I recently discovered CityNews Kitchener quietly deleted two stories about a former IDF soldier, which may violate its news guidelines.” It appears that those who previously boasted about their time with the IOF now want the information scrubbed from the internet.
The panic is taking place despite little mainstream condemnation of Canadians in the IOF or pressure to enforce Canadian law on Israel. Eighteen months ago Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) wrote a letter to the minister about investigating Canadians under the War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Act and the group has raised the matter on a few occasions subsequently.
I’ve asked multiple politicians about it and some lawyers have mentioned the legislation. But when I googled “Gaza” and “War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Act” remarkably little came up.
There’s also little critical discussion about Canadians in the IOF. Two weeks ago Mastracci posted about how little support he’s received for his site. He explained: “Since publishing Find IDF Soldiers, I’ve had some Canadian and Israeli politicians, as well as Israeli government officials, speak out against it. I’ve been defamed as a Nazi in international media, and have had people openly announce plans for a proposed class action lawsuit to try to shut the site down.
I’ve had Jewish and Israeli lobby groups boast about how they’ve been in touch with law enforcement to take action against me. I’ve had the RCMP, Canada’s federal police force, investigate me (finding none of what I’ve done to be criminal), and am awaiting answers on requests that could show other police departments and government agencies have done the same.
You’d think that this chain of events would have prompted some sort of concern, expressions of solidarity, or (most importantly) follow-up work from Canadian press freedom organizations, civil liberty groups, independent media outlets, etc.
“That has not been the case. I’ve heard nothing from any of them (other than the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute, Just Peace Advocates and the Ontario Palestinian Rights Association creating a petition, and Yves Engler and Kwame Eff writing articles about the project), and no formal support for the project has been offered. I wasn’t even able to get comments for my article on the RCMP investigation from Canadian civil liberty/press freedom organizations before publishing. In some cases, this lack of reaction has been expected. In others, it has been surprising. In both, it has been disappointing.”
Where are Independent Jewish Voices, Amnesty International Canada, National Council of Canadian Muslims, and other groups on Canada’s War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Act? Similarly, where’s the NDP?
Six weeks ago, I asked NDP interim leader Don Davies about prosecuting Canadians in the IOF under the War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Act. He supported an investigation but said he knew little about the legislation. I could not find any statement from the NDP on applying Canadian law to those involved in Israeli war crimes. Why hasn’t NDP foreign affairs critic Heather MacPherson raised Canada’s War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity Act at any point over the past 21 months of genocide in Gaza?
My message to the NDP and others who should speak out: Stop being scared of accusations from Israel supporters of antisemitism, of targeting Canadian Jews. Everyone who defends Palestinian human rights or international law as it applies to Israel faces this slander. If you support the rule of law, demand the federal government uphold the law. Prosecute genocidal supremacists who’ve fought in Gaza and participated in war crimes.
– Yves Engler is the author of Canada and Israel: Building Apartheid and a number of other books. He contributed this article to The Palestine Chronicle. Visit his website: yvesengler.com.
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