CJPME Calls for Resignation of Quebec Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry Over Crackdown on Academic Freedom

 

Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) is calling for the immediate resignation of Quebec’s Minister of Higher Education, Pascale Déry, following her repeated attempts to stifle academic freedom and silence critical discussions on Palestine. CJPME condemns Minister Déry’s repeated political interference targeting content about Palestinian literature and the Nakba at Vanier and Dawson colleges, as well as her related “investigation,” which aims to suppress pro-Palestinian expression on those campuses.

“Minister Déry’s actions are a direct attack on academic freedom and an alarming escalation of political interference in higher education,” said CJPME Acting President Michael Bueckert. “Her attempts to police discussion on Palestine and dictate the boundaries of academic inquiry are unacceptable in a democratic society. Anything short of resignation represents an ongoing threat to academic freedom in Quebec.”

CJPME joins a growing number of civil society groups in condemning Minister Déry’s inappropriate political interference. CJPME also believes the Minister has a conflict of interest as a former board member of pro-Israel lobby organization CIJA-Quebec, which has taken credit for prompting the investigation into Dawson and Vanier colleges. Given the growing evidence that Déry is acting unethically, CJPME calls on Minister Déry to resign immediately.

“This is not about ensuring safe campuses—this is about silencing Palestinian perspectives amid a genocide,” added Bueckert. “By using her position to intimidate scholars and institutions, Minister Déry is violating the fundamental principles of higher education. If she refuses to respect the independence of Quebec’s universities, she must step down.”

CJPME calls on Quebec’s academic institutions to resist political pressure and uphold their commitment to academic freedom. The organization also urges Premier François Legault to take immediate action to protect higher education from political interference and ensure that universities and colleges remain places of open and critical debate.  (more...)

CJPME Calls for Resignation of Quebec Higher Education Minister Pascale Déry Over Crackdown on Academic Freedom

Boycotting Made Easy: With Adil Abutalha Founder of Boycat App

 

With the movement to boycott Israel gaining significant momentum since the start of the Genocide in Gaza, and many major brands facing the heat over their complicity in the occupation, Boycat App is a very powerful and simple tool that is making it easier for consumers to buy consciously and ethically. My guest today is Adil Abutalha, the founder of the Boycat App, the official app partners for the BDS movement.

Concordia Sit-In: Students Protest Suppression and Demand Divestment

 

Montreal youth speak for oppressed Palestine

Residents rally against Rheinmetall's arms sales to Israel and Ukraine

 

A group of demonstrators braved the rainy weather to picket outside the Union Buildings in Pretoria demanding the closure of the Rheinmetall in South Africa and more control over arms sales to Israel and Ukraine.

According to Thuto Mashaba, who led the protest this week, stated this was a continuation of the picket in Boksburg last month, which protested Rheinmetall's supply of weapons to Israel and Ukraine.

Although the German armaments firm has publicly acknowledged that it supplies weapons to Ukraine, he underlined that activists are extremely concerned that it is still producing artillery shells.

"We demanded that President Cyril Ramaphosa at the very least check the activities of the Rheinmetall plant for compliance with South Africa’s official policy of not intervening in international conflicts or supplying arms to third countries," Mashaba said.

BlackRock, a US financial corporation, holds the majority of shares in Rheinmetall Denel Munitions (RDM), a multinational arms manufacturer headquartered in Germany with operations in South Africa.  (more...)

Residents rally against Rheinmetall's arms sales to Israel and Ukraine

Pro-Israel Think Tank WINEP Outed as “Dark Money” Operation Driving US Wars

 

The AIPAC-aligned Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP), which often refers to itself simply as The Washington Institute, was recently outed as a “dark money” think tank for its lack of transparency on donors and is continuing to push the United States to engage in conflicts overseas to Israel’s benefit. Its case raises questions about how the Israel Lobby functions through think tanks across the board, shaping U.S. foreign policy behind closed doors.

WINEP has a long history of shaping U.S. foreign policy. It was deeply involved in the neoconservative push for regime change in Iraq, joining calls for the Clinton administration to topple Saddam Hussein as early as 1998. They also pushed for U.S. military intervention and helped justify the eventual invasion in 2003.

At the beginning of the year, the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft unveiled the “Think Tank Funding Tracker,” a one-of-a-kind project that examined the funding sources of the top 50 U.S. think tanks since 2019 and rated their transparency from 0 to 5. WINEP and 16 others—including the neoconservative Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD)—received a zero transparency rating, exposing its reliance on “dark money” contributions.

While WINEP claims “to be funded exclusively by U.S. citizens” on its website, it does not publicly disclose its donor list. Its AIPAC roots were first exposed in 2006 by Stephen Walt and John Mearsheimer in “The London Review of Books,” where they described WINEP as an AIPAC cutout advancing Israel’s agenda under the guise of independent research. The pair wrote at the time that “The Lobby created its own think tank in 1985, when Martin Indyk helped found WINEP.  Although WINEP plays down its links to Israel and claims instead that it provides a “balanced and realistic” perspective on Middle East issues, this is not the case. In fact, WINEP is funded and run by individuals who are deeply committed to advancing Israel’s agenda.”  (more...)

Pro-Israel Think Tank WINEP Outed as “Dark Money” Operation Driving US Wars

Background:

Big Ideas and Big Money: Think Tank Funding in America

THROWBACK: Ex-Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defence for the Middle East Dana Stroul gloats that the US 'owns' the most hydrocarbon & grain-rich one-third of Syria🇸🇾 and that the US will use it as leverage to pursue regime change

The architect of Syria’s tragedy is the USA pic.twitter.com/wjdqWQXkPB

— Afshin Rattansi (@afshinrattansi) December 2, 2024

EU Lawmakers Denied Entry to Israel, Call for Strong EU Response

 

Israel refused entry to two EU lawmakers, sparking outrage over its treatment of European officials and scrutiny of its actions in Palestine.

Two European lawmakers were denied entry to Israel and deported back to Europe shortly after landing at Ben Gurion Airport on Monday, prompting calls for a firm EU response.

Lynn Boylan, the head of the European Parliament’s EU-Palestine delegation, and French-Palestinian lawmaker Rima Hassan were traveling from Brussels to Palestine via Israel for diplomatic discussions.

After hours of questioning, they were refused entry and sent back to Belgium.

Israel’s Interior Ministry justified barring Hassan over her support for boycotts but gave no reason for Boylan’s expulsion.

According to the Anadolu news agency, Boylan stated that all necessary permits had been submitted weeks in advance and called on the EU to take a strong stance against the incident.

“The EU must respond firmly—this is not how allies treat one another,” she told Anadolu. She also urged European institutions to back her delegation’s mission and ensure it is rescheduled.  (more...)

EU Lawmakers Denied Entry to Israel, Call for Strong EU Response

Irish MEP Sinn Féin’s Lynn Boylan, who chairs the European Parliament’s delegation for relations with Palestine, was denied entry into Palestine by Israel on Monday.

Detained at Ben Gurion Airport along with French MEP Rima Hassan and two senior civil servants, the four-person… pic.twitter.com/yHrR1JTfEe

— The Cradle (@TheCradleMedia) February 25, 2025

Milei to open Argentina’s Nazi ratline archives, urged to reveal Holocaust records

 

A CSW delegation met with the Interior and Defense Ministers, and the Argentinian National Archives director, who offered their cooperation in location documents on the so-called 'ratlines.'

Argentinian President Javier Milei said he would open the country’s archives on the coordination and financing of Nazi escape routes from Europe, according to Simon Wiesenthal Center Latin America.

A CSW delegation met with the interior and defense ministers and the Argentinian National Archives director, who offered their cooperation in locating documents on the so-called “ratlines.”

“Today’s commitment by Argentine President Milei set a historic precedent of justice for the world. We have waited nearly 80 years for definitive proof of Argentina’s involvement in Nazi ratlines, and now, thanks to President Milei, archival evidence will finally reveal the full extent of this dark chapter.

“These escape routes allowed Nazis to evade justice and fund their new lives while Holocaust survivors struggled to rebuild their shattered ones – an injustice the Jewish people continue to endure every day,” CSW Global Social Action director Rabbi Abraham Cooper said last week.  (more...)

Milei to open Argentina’s Nazi ratline archives, urged to reveal Holocaust records

Related:

Argentina's President to open top-secret files on how Nazis fled to South America

Elon Musk’s Family History: His Bloodline is Much More Disturbing Than You Think

 

Elon Musk’s family roots in far-right politics and apartheid reveal the origins of his ideologies.

Elon Musk, the world’s richest man and CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and X (formerly Twitter), has become a polarizing figure in global politics, often aligning himself with far-right movements and controversial ideologies. But Musk’s political leanings are not an anomaly within his family. A closer look at his family history reveals a troubling legacy of far-right activism, white supremacy, and ties to apartheid-era South Africa—a legacy that stretches back to his grandparents and beyond.

While Musk’s recent endorsements of far-right political parties like Germany’s Alternative for Deutschland (AfD) and his promotion of conspiracy theories like the “great replacement” have drawn widespread criticism, the roots of his family’s political ideology run much deeper. Musk’s maternal grandparents, Joshua Haldeman and Wyn Fletcher, were prominent Canadian doctors who openly supported fascist ideologies in the 1940s, including sympathies with Adolf Hitler’s regime.

In an interview, Musk’s father, Errol Musk, acknowledged this dark chapter of family history.

“They used to support Hitler and all that sort of stuff,” Errol said of his ex-wife’s parents. “But they didn’t know, I don’t think they knew what the Nazis were doing. But they were in the German Nazi party but in Canada. And they sympathized with the Germans.”

Haldeman and Fletcher’s far-right activism didn’t end with World War II. After the war, explicit support for Nazi ideology became taboo in Canada, prompting Haldeman to relocate his family to apartheid South Africa, where his views found a more welcoming environment. In South Africa, Haldeman became an outspoken advocate for apartheid, delivering speeches that echoed white supremacist rhetoric. In one 1950s address, he claimed apartheid South Africa was leading “White Christian Civilization” against an “International conspiracy of Jewish bankers” and the “hordes of colored people” he alleged they controlled.  (more...)

Elon Musk’s Family History: His Bloodline is Much More Disturbing Than You Think

Yves Engler discusses repression in Canada

 

Author Yves Engler was released on Monday after spending five days in a Montreal jail.

Engler’s arrest and detention was “a shocking attack on free expression and democratic rights and criticism of Israel in Canada – a country that’s supposed to be a free, democratic society,” according to Alex Tyrrell, leader of the Green Party of Quebec.

Engler was initially charged with “harassment” in connection with social media posts criticizing Dahlia Kurtz, an influencer who uses social media to spread hatred against Palestinians and Muslims, and to disseminate debunked 7 October atrocity propaganda used to justify Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

After police called Engler and informed him of his impending arrest, he went online to refute the accusations of harassment. “On dozens of occasions I’ve responded to Kurtz’s racist, violent anti-Palestinian posts on X,” Engler wrote on his website.

Because of that post, police then claimed Engler was also harassing the police and added a series of new charges. 

We are joined today by Yves Engler to talk about what he has just been through and the growing repression against supporters of Palestinian rights, as well as Canada’s role in Israel’s genocide. 

Canadian Writer Jailed for Criticising Israel and Its Supporter

 

What Canadian writer Yves Engler has endured is both criminal and a wake-up call for all Canadians. Israel and its supporters are weaponising Canada's court system in order to try and stifle dissent. 

Author and activist, Yves Engler, spent five days in jail because he refused to silence himself about Israel's on-going genocide and to not criticise those who are shilling for that genocide. He spoke with me a day after his release. 

"After spending five days imprisoned, I was released without restriction on my ability to discuss the charges brought against me for criticizing Israel. It’s a small win for free expression and Palestine campaigning. In court on Monday the judge effectively forced the crown to drop its bid to block me from mentioning arch anti Palestinian Dahlia Kurtz. The crown wanted to restrict my ability to mention the name of the Jewish supremacist who instigated a police complaint against me."

New report details police repression of Palestine activism at UCLA

 

According to a new report, a total of $12.3 million was spent on "managing" UCLA’s protests around the school's Gaza solidarity encampment last year. Additionally, there were over 200 arrests, and more than 10 degrees were withheld from students.

Last October, the ACLU launched a lawsuit against the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), challenging the school’s administrators’ suppression of student and faculty speech.

That suppression ultimately resulted in the police’s violent destruction of the school’s Gaza Solidarity Encampment amid clashes with Zionist provocateurs.

“I can still hear the relentless sound of the stun grenades,” described one student protester at the time. “Trepidation still courses through my body when I think about police in riot gear shooting rubber bullets at and beating students and friends. The university betrayed us and could have listened to the students and workers by taking meaningful steps to withdraw its support from Israeli human rights violations, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.”

“Instead, the university chose to brutalize members of our community, who had already withstood attacks from mobs spewing racist epithets,” they continued. “I am sickened to think of how the university would rather give in to an authoritarian political culture that violently punishes dissent than move toward ethical investment practices.”

A new report uncovers the extent of that repression.  (more...)

New report details police repression of Palestine activism at UCLA

Columbia's Barnard College is first to expel students over Gaza war

 

Activists say the expulsions lacked due process, leaving students with little time to retain legal counsel

Two students on Friday were expelled from Barnard College, which is part of Columbia University, for disrupting a class as an act of political protest.

The students were part of a group of four who walked into a "history of modern Israel" class on the first day of the spring semester on 21 January to “provide a discursive alternative” to a class they say “dodged questions of Palestinian self-determination and whitewashed the ongoing genocide” in Gaza.

The students distributed fliers, which interim president Katrina Armstrong says contained “violent imagery that is unacceptable on our campus”. 

Three days later, two of the students faced interim suspensions and were banned from all campus facilities, including dorms, libraries, health services, and dining halls. According to the Columbia University Apartheid Divest (Cuad) Collective Defense Working Group, all of this took place without an investigation or hearing.

On Friday, they were formally expelled less than a month after they were suspended.

Barnard is a women’s college that shares academic and extracurricular resources and is an official college of Columbia University. The students’ expulsions mark the first politically related ones at Columbia in 57 years and the first official expulsion over the Gaza war, according to Cuad.  (more...)

Columbia's Barnard College is first to expel students over Gaza war

Barnard college EXPELS two students for pro-Palestinian activism under pressure from billionaire donors

Follow @ColumbiaBDS for details on an upcoming WEEK OF ACTION demanding Barnard reverse the expulsions! pic.twitter.com/sngbcSpYc8

— CU Apartheid Divest (CUAD) (@ColumbiaBDS) February 23, 2025

Thank you to thousands who supported me: we won

 

After spending five days imprisoned, I was released without restriction on my ability to discuss the charges brought against me for criticizing Israel. It’s a small win for free expression and Palestine campaigning.

In court on Monday the judge effectively forced the crown to drop its bid to block me from mentioning arch anti Palestinian Dahlia Kurtz. The crown wanted to restrict my ability to mention the name of the Jewish supremacist who instigated a police complaint against me.

The outpouring of support has been heartwarming and helpful. On Thursday morning 30 joined an emergency rally to accompany me to the police station where I was detained. A similar number showed up at court on Friday and on Monday morning I was told 100 rallied at the court. Thirty were still there when I was released after 7 PM.

Protesters’ presence in the court Monday morning is probably what prompted the judge to demand the jail send me immediately to court (apparently there was a mix up on the date for my bail hearing). Those who came out ensured the judge considered the free speech/Palestine issue seriously. A slew of guards commented on the number of supporters inside court and who later waited outside for my release. As a result, they treated me more respectfully.

In response to the initial call over 4000 emailed a Montreal police inspector calling for them to “drop charges against author Yves Engler”. Subsequently more than 6000 emailed the Montreal police chief and mayor requesting my release from jail and the withdrawal of all the charges against me.  (more...)

Thank you to thousands who supported me: we won

"What's Going on Here, Montreal?" REMIX by David Rovics

Yves Engler is out of jail, as of several hours ago, but we still want to know what the heck is going on in Montreal with the cops terrorizing journalists.

Read on Substack

Palestinian envoy plays audio recording of Hind Rajab before Israeli forces killed her

 

During a session at the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, Palestinian envoy Riyad Mansour played an audio recording of a call made by 6-year-old Hind Rajab to the Palestinian Red Crescent Society before she was killed by Israeli forces.

Canadian Activist Yves Engler Jailed For Criticizing Fanatical Zionist Dahlia Kurtz

 

Last week, Canadian author and activist Yves Engler was charged, arrested and jailed for the alleged 'harassment' of a fanatical, anti-Palestinian 'influencer', Dahlia Kurtz.

Because Yves refused to undertake to refrain from talking about the case publicly, Montreal police kept him in prison for five days. 

Ultimately, after Yves was brought before a judge who seemed sceptical of the grounds for jailing Yves, Yves was released without committing to remain silent about the ludicrous charges against him.

On the day of Yves' release from prison, Dimitri Lascaris spoke with Yves about the reasons for his imprisonment and the conditions in the prison where Yves was held.

How Yves Engler got released on bail amidst charges for criticizing a Zionist

 

The Canada Files spoke to Alex Tyrell, leader of the Green Party of Québec, about how author Yves Engler was able to obtain bail, Tyrell's role in making this possible, and how a Conservative MP candidate in Québec has driven Engler's persecution.

ICC Urged to Investigate Allegations of War Crimes in Gaza Involving Biden & Blinken

 

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has been requested to conduct an investigation into allegations of war crimes involving President Joe Biden and Secretary of State Antony Blinken for their role in facilitating Israel’s genocide of the native Palestinian population in Gaza.

This marks a significant precedent, as it is the first instance in which a United States-based entity has sought a judicial inquiry into a former president’s potential involvement in purported war crimes and crimes against humanity…

Democracy for the Arab World Now (DAWN) published a 172-page report outlining their request and communications to the International Criminal Court (ICC), in which they have alleged former President Biden, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, and former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin – played an accessorial role in aiding and abetting, as well as intentionally contributing to, Israeli war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza...

DAWN submitted its January 19 communication in response to the Prosecutor’s November 17, 2023 call for parties to present to his office information relevant to his office’s ongoing probe into violations of the Rome Statute in Palestine, including the current war in Gaza.

The submission presents extensive documentation of decisions by these three American officials to provide Israel with military support, including providing over $17.9 billion in weapons and active military support, including U.S.-operated combat operations, intelligence gathering, and targeting support. The submission also details the trio’s political support, including actions at the United Nations Security Council to veto ceasefire resolutions, and public support encouraging Israeli atrocities, each with the goal of aiding and abetting and ensuring the continuation of Israeli crimes. It analyzes how specific actions and decisions by these officials meet the legal threshold for both aiding and abetting and intentionally contributing to crimes under international criminal law, drawing on established ICC jurisprudence and precedent from other international tribunals.  (more...)

ICC Urged to Investigate Allegations of War Crimes in Gaza Involving Biden & Blinken

Daniel Levy stressed the importance of holding the state of Israel accountable for its crimes

 

Daniel Levy, former Israeli peace negotiator, addressed the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday where he stressed the importance of holding the state of Israel accountable for its crimes and not allowing it to act with total impunity.

He criticised the state for claiming 'the moral high ground' while attacking the bodies that uphold international law, including the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.

Germany to Become First Country Run by a Former BlackRock Exec

 

Millionaire Merz is a corporate king in conservative clothing

At the ripe age of 69, Friedrich Merz has waited decades for this moment. Ahead of Sunday’s election, he is Germany’s chancellor-in-waiting, with his Christian Democratic Union (CDU) predicted to secure 30% of the vote. He’ll have to cobble together another coalition of disparate parties, but Merz won’t mind. Come Monday morning, he will have completed one of the most remarkable comebacks in recent political history.

Merz joined the party decades ago as a student. But today, he is effectively running on a “Make Germany Great Again” platform — a calculated attempt to win votes from the Alternative for Germany (AfD) by shifting his party to the Right on issues such as immigration. His cynicism here shouldn’t be underestimated: like Donald Trump in America, the millionaire Merz is a corporate king in conservative clothing.

Merz, let’s not forget, has long represented the interests of some of the world’s most powerful corporate and financial elites, most notably as a key representative of BlackRock in Germany between 2016 and 2020. Indeed, if Merz is elected, Germany will become the first country to be ruled by a former BlackRock official. But his ties to elite institutions go back much further: for over two decades, even before joining BlackRock, he embodied the revolving door between politics, business and finance.

After the 2002 federal election, Angela Merkel, the then-leader of the CDU, secured the chairmanship of the parliamentary group, while Merz was appointed as her deputy. Their relationship, however, was far from breezy, and Merz resigned just two years later, gradually withdrawing from politics until he left parliament in 2009. Yet he struck gold even before his departure. In 2004, he was hired as senior counsel by the international law and lobbying firm Mayer Brown, a heavyweight in the industry with an annual turnover of billions.

Here, Merz discovered a far more fruitful relationship. As Werner Rügemer, author of BlackRock Germany, explains, at Mayer Brown Merz helped facilitate deals that promoted the interests of US capital in Germany, encouraging American investors to buy companies in the Federal Republic. The result was the sale and restructuring of thousands of German firms, which involved slashing jobs and freezing wages — an approach openly praised by Merz in his book Dare to Be More Capitalist. No doubt keen to embody his book’s thesis, during this period Merz also sat on the supervisory and administrative boards of several major corporations. And then BlackRock, arguably one of the most powerful companies to ever exist, came knocking. How could Merz say no? Pharmaceuticals, entertainment, media and, of course, war — there is virtually no sector that BlackRock won’t try and profit from.  (more...)

Germany to Become First Country Run by a Former BlackRock Exec

Amnesty Criticizes Merz for Inviting Netanyahu to Germany amid ICC Warrant

 

Future German chancellor vows to shield Netanyahu from ICC arrest warrant

Friedrich Merz faces backlash after extending an invitation to Netanyahu, who is wanted by the ICC for alleged war crimes in Gaza.

Amnesty International has strongly criticized Friedrich Merz, leader of Germany’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and potential next chancellor following Sunday’s parliamentary elections, for inviting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Berlin.

“Not a good start as future chancellor: on the evening of the Bundestag elections, Friedrich Merz apparently invites Benjamin Netanyahu to Germany, against whom an arrest warrant has been issued by the International Criminal Court,” Amnesty Deutschland stated on X (formerly Twitter) on Monday.

The organization condemned the invitation as an “open call” to disregard international law.

“The new German government must respect international law and human rights institutions. For a foreign policy without double standards,” Amnesty added.

The Israeli Prime Minister’s office confirmed on Monday that Merz had extended an official invitation to Netanyahu for a visit to Germany.  (more...)

Amnesty Criticizes Merz for Inviting Netanyahu to Germany amid ICC Warrant

Background:

Future German chancellor vows to shield Netanyahu from ICC arrest warrant

BREAKING: First thing Friedrich Merz does?

Invites wanted war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu for official visit to Germany in defiance of ICC

"To Germany: How many rivers of Palestinian blood need to flow before you feel cleansed of your guilt over the Holocaust"@YanisVaroufakis pic.twitter.com/JKDNNefCIR

— Double Down News (@DoubleDownNews) February 24, 2025

Canadian pro-Palestinian activist released from jail says free speech under threat

 

Yves Engler spoke to Middle East Eye about spending five days in jail and Canada's crackdown on pro-Palestinian speech

A Canadian activist and author was released after five days in prison following accusations by an anti-Palestinian media personality that he had harassed her, and his refusal to stay quiet about his case.

Yves Engler was taken into custody on the morning of 20 February in Montreal and spent five days in Bordeaux prison in Montreal before being released Monday after a court appearance.

Thousands of people signed letters asking for the charges to be dropped, and more than 100 people turned out to support the author - who has been a long-term critic of Canadian foreign policy and its military-industrial complex – at court.

Speaking to Middle East Eye on Tuesday from his home in Canada, Engler said he was “feeling good”.

“Jail was unpleasant, but it wasn’t traumatic for me, although I appreciate it’s traumatic for others. It’s a dehumanising place.

“I think the key issue is I had to go to jail for five days to win the right to (publicly) criticise charges brought against me. The police, and then the crown, wanted to restrict my right to write about my case. When I wrote about it, they claimed I was harassing the police. I was in jail for five days over a technical condition. When I went on Thursday morning, they could have processed and let me go.”

Engler’s detainment is part of a larger crackdown on free speech in Canada, he says.

“Less than two weeks ago, I spoke on a webinar with a lawyer from the British Columbia Civil Liberties Association, and it was titled, The New McCarthyism in Canada,” he said.

“It was all about the targeting of those opposing Canadian complicity in Israel's apartheid and genocide. We went through a whole bunch of examples of people who've been targeted. Canada has, for more than a century, provided all kinds of support for Zionism and for Palestinian dispossession. The targeting of those opposing Israel's crimes is just one of the innumerable ways that Canada has assisted in Palestinian dispossession.”  (more...)

Canadian pro-Palestinian activist released from jail says free speech under threat

Related:

Montreal police arrest Yves Engler for criticizing a supporter of Israel

Biden, Blinken & Austin Accused of Complicity in Israel's Gaza War Crimes; ICC Urged to Investigate

 

DAWN, a D.C.-based nonprofit organization that supports democracy and human rights in the Middle East and North Africa, is asking the International Criminal Court to investigate former President Joe Biden, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken and former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin for possible complicity in war crimes and crimes against humanity, citing the $17.9 billion worth of U.S. weapons transfers to Israel overseen by the Biden administration. "The bombs that Israel has used to destroy schools, hospitals and homes in Gaza were American bombs that they provided. Israel's campaign of murder and persecution was carried out with political support that they ensured," says Reed Brody, a longtime war crimes lawyer and a board member at DAWN. Biden, Blinken and Austin were not only "aware of what was being done with their ammunition," but also "tried to stifle criticism" of their policies. Furthermore, says Brody, U.S. complicity in Israeli war crimes could extend into the Trump administration. He suggests that the ICC prosecutor "would be well within his rights" to open a probe into Trump following the administration's sanctions on the ICC in response to arrest warrants issued against Israeli officials.

Nazi collaborator’s name found on Victims of Communism monument

 

Canadian Heritage engraved the nameplates before deciding who to commemorate

The name of a Nazi collaborator believed to have participated in the massacre of Latvian Jews was engraved on Ottawa’s Monument to the Victims of Communism, according to internal emails obtained by Ricochet through Access to Information.

In addition, the engraving took place before the federal department had made a final decision about who to commemorate. This contradicts previous statements by Canadian Heritage, which has consistently denied that any names had been engraved on the controversial monument, as they had not yet determined who among the roughly 500 individuals slated for commemoration aligned with Canadian values. 

In fact, several hundred names had been engraved and affixed to the monument in advance of the monument’s original unveiling date, scheduled for November 2nd 2023.

In an email dated November 3rd 2023, Sandra Richards, a Canadian Heritage (PCH) project manager responsible for monuments and public art, indicated to her colleagues at Canadian Heritage and the National Capital Commission that an Assistant Deputy Minister with Canadian Heritage wanted the names removed as soon as possible.

“Per my previous email, we fully understand the need to continue production of the names in the absence of a final decision from PCH so that you can close out that contract. It may have been a misunderstanding on our part that this work would also involve installation, but the direction from senior management is that tiles should not be installed until we’ve reached a decision.”

Richards further stated that she noticed the name of a known Nazi collaborator during a site visit that occurred on November 1st 2023.

“I didn’t look at all the names when I was on site, but I did notice “Janis Niedra,” which has already been decided in principle to be removed (it’s a name that can be readily researched and identified as a nazi [sic] collaborator with no ambiguity).”  (more...)

Nazi collaborator’s name found on Victims of Communism monument

Meet 85 Canadians That Have Fought For Israel

 

Here’s what our investigation into Canadians that have joined the Israeli military found

For the better part of the past century, some Jews in Canada have been travelling to Israel to fight alongside other Jewish Zionists from around the world.

Throughout this time, the Israeli military has been credibly accused by and/or before major international bodies of ethnic cleansing, war crimes, apartheid, and now genocide. Israeli soldiers have also provided the physical force necessary to uphold practices the Canadian government has condemned, such as the occupation of the West Bank and the creation of new settlements. Despite this, the Canadian government has shown no interest in making it illegal for its citizens to join the Israeli military, preventing them from doing so or even keeping track of them.

There is little existing research in Canada beyond one-off news articles about who these soldiers are and how they came to make the life choices that they did. As such, I created a database of mini-profiles for as many Canadians that have fought in the Israeli military at any point as I could find. The resulting project, Find IDF Soldiers, was published this month, and offers the most comprehensive online public database of Canadians that have joined the Israeli military. This project defines “Canadian” as someone who is a Canadian citizen, and/or has lived in Canada for a significant amount of time, and/or currently lives in Canada.  

The level of detail for each of the 85 profiles included varied based on what was publicly available, but the goal was to identify: where each soldier was born and grew up, what schools and institutions they attended, when they joined the Israeli military and why, if their participation was encouraged by family members and social networks, what they did in the military and what they’ve had to say about it, and what they’ve done since. 

Every profile was based entirely on information gathered through simple Google searches from news articles, social media profiles, newsletters, websites, public directories and other sources. If you’d like to check out these profiles and a full list of the names of the soldiers, you can do so now at the website I created for the project.

This article draws upon the research I conducted to create the profiles and offers some of the trends I discovered to help provide a better understanding of the average Canadian Israeli military member.  (more...)

Meet 85 Canadians That Have Fought For Israel

The database:

Find IDF Soldiers

UCalgary Palestine encampment's fate was sealed before a single tent was pitched, documents reveal

 

The Orchard has obtained hundreds of pages of correspondence from the university's executive leadership team, campus security, Calgary police and the provincial government.

In the early hours of May 9, 2024, a pro-Palestinian encampment was erected at the University of Calgary to protest Israel’s war on Gaza, which had killed at least 35,000 Palestinians, though medical experts would soon warn that the true figure was almost certainly far higher.

The UCalgary students and other community members involved in the protest were part of a broader movement at campuses across the United States and Canada calling for their institutions to disclose investments and divest from those implicated in Israel’s genocidal war.

These encampments lasted for varying amounts of time, but few, if any, were shorter lived than the one at UCalgary. 

Before anyone had the chance to stay overnight, Calgary police officers stormed onto campus dressed like they were going to war. The cops violently dismantled the protest camp, firing 15 pepperball rounds and four pepper grenades at the participants and using a degree of physical force that gave at least two protestors traumatic brain injuries.

Shortly after the encampment was aggressively dispersed, the Orchard filed a freedom of information request with UCalgary, seeking all correspondence from May 1 to May 13 to and from the university’s executive leadership team, which consists of the president and seven vice-presidents, regarding the encampment. 

In late January, this outlet received four tranches of internal correspondence, each about 200 pages long, including significant redactions and duplicates. 

These documents show that, even before a single tent peg was placed in the ground, UCalgary administration’s intention was to make the encampment disappear.  (more...)

UCalgary Palestine encampment's fate was sealed before a single tent was pitched, documents reveal

The future of resistance

 

A roundtable looking at the future of resistance to Zionism, Imperialism and Colonialism in Lebanon, Iran, UK, EU and Canada, with the distinguished guests, Dr Mohammad Marandi, Dr David Miller, Leila Hatoum and Dimitri Lascaris.

Silencing Dissent: The arrest of Yves Engler and the criminalization of political speech in Canada

 

The criminal charges laid against Montreal-based author, activist, and Mondoweiss contributor Yves Engler for responding to a pro-Israel influencer’s social media posts should concern anyone who values freedom of expression and the rule of law.

The criminal charges laid against Montreal-based author and activist Yves Engler should concern anyone who values freedom of expression and the rule of law in Canada. Engler, known for his outspoken critiques of Canadian foreign policy and Israel’s actions in Gaza, has been charged with harassment and indecent communication for responding to the social media posts of pro-Israel influencer Dahlia Kurtz. Disturbingly, he now faces additional charges merely for writing about his own case.

This case raises fundamental questions about the criminalization of political speech, the use of law enforcement to silence dissent, and whether Canada is sliding into a pattern of repression that weaponizes the justice system against pro-Palestinian voices.

On February 21, Engler turned himself in to Montreal police after being informed that he was being charged with harassment for publicly responding to Kurtz’s posts on X (formerly Twitter). Kurtz, a media personality known for inflammatory rhetoric, claimed Engler’s responses made her feel unsafe, despite the fact that she had never blocked him—a basic feature on X designed to prevent unwanted interactions.

Engler has made it clear that he never directly contacted Kurtz, nor sent her private messages, nor followed her on X. “I’ve never met Kurtz. Nor have I messaged or emailed her. Nor have I threatened her. I don’t even follow her on X,” he stated​. His comments were public, critical of her pro-Israel stance, and—while pointed—fell squarely within the domain of protected political speech.

His arrest and charges raise serious concerns about the misuse of the criminal justice system to stifle legitimate criticism of state and media narratives. That Kurtz is reportedly represented by a law firm linked to Conservative Party candidate Neil Oberman—who has been involved in multiple lawsuits against critics of Israel—further underscores the political nature of this case​.  (more...)

Silencing Dissent: The arrest of Yves Engler and the criminalization of political speech in Canada

Update: Canadian Jailed for Criticizing Israel

 

Author and activist Yves Engler is facing political persecution for calling out the genocidal commentary of a self described Toronto based media influencer, named Dahlia Kurtz on X. In this video, Yves's lawyer, John Philpott, notes that Conservative Party Candidate and attorney, Neil Oberman, is the one bringing forth the charges on behalf of Dahlia Kurtz and is alleging harassment from Engler. Rather than block Engler on X, Kurtz and Oberman have convinced the Montreal Police that Engler is a threat. Engler should have been released but the crown attorney in the case instead chose to remand him. No reason was given for his remand.

Danish politicians applaud member of Ukraine’s neo-Nazi unit

 

Dmitry Kanuper has been convicted of war crimes by a Russian court

A member of Ukraine’s ultra-nationalist Azov unit and convicted war criminal Dmitry Kanuper received a standing ovation during a conference at the Danish parliament. Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen, and parliamentary speaker Soren Gade attended the event, which took place on February 19.

Established as a volunteer battalion in 2014 and incorporated into Ukraine’s National Guard a year later, Azov has faced accusations of war crimes and was formally designated as a terrorist organization by Russia in 2022. The unit, co-founded by prominent Ukrainian white supremacist Andrey Biletsky, has openly welcomed neo-Nazis into its ranks.

Azov uses the Wolfsangel, a rune adopted by several German divisions during World War II, including the 2nd SS Panzer Division Das Reich.

The unit was decimated during the battle of Mariupol in 2022, when many of its members, including Kanuper, were taken prisoner. 

In September 2023, a Russian court sentenced Kanuper to 29 years in prison for war crimes. According to Russia’s Investigative Committee, in March 2022, the Azovite opened fire on a civilian vehicle, killing two unarmed men, and later shot a third civilian on the street.

Kanuper, however, was eventually released as part of a prisoner swap and, according to Ukrainian media, returned home in September 2024.  (more...)

Danish politicians applaud member of Ukraine’s neo-Nazi unit

Il nazista ucraino Dmytro Kanuper di Azov ha tenuto un discorso al parlamento danese, dove ha ricevuto una standing ovation. Kanuper è stato recentemente liberato dalla prigionia russa nonostante fosse accusato di crimini di guerra a Mariupol. pic.twitter.com/QaQogYpPXL

— Chance 🤺 Giardiniere 🍊 🔞 (@ChanceGardiner) February 22, 2025

Berlin and antisemitism (II)

 

German authorities stop UN representative from speaking. Their pretext: “antisemitism”. An alternative meeting, on daily newspaper premises, is intimidated by armed police.

Bureaucratic and police interventions to prevent a United Nations representative from speaking on Palestine mark a new low point in Germany’s ongoing suppression of free expression and assembly. In recent days, planned appearances by the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, have been cancelled at short notice in both Berlin and Munich under pressure from politicians and state authorities. The pretext for this latest crackdown is a policy of rigorous action against anyone alleged to hold antisemitic views. A replacement venue was found at short notice on Tuesday for Albanese: in the editorial offices of the leftist daily ‘junge Welt’. But the organisers then found themselves under intense surveillance by armed police. Police vehicles surrounded the building and officers forced their way in despite objections by the organisers. This ugly episode took place against a background of growing repression of those demonstrating against war in Gaza. Rallies are being violently dispersed, one formal reason being the language used by speakers: any language other than German or English can lead to arrest. This also goes for anti-Zionist Jewish protesters speaking Hebrew. Moreover, having adopted a controversial catch-all definition of antisemitism, the German government is now effectively curbing academic freedom. Renowned academics have been sharply criticising these policies – in vain.

The disputes surrounding state action against actual or alleged expressions of antisemitism recently escalated last autumn. With a large majority, Bundestag lawmakers adopted a resolution on combatting antisemitism. Passed on 7 November 2024, the resolution defines antisemitism in accordance with the IHRA (International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance) definition – internationally considered a highly controversial position. It is criticised for enabling those in power to brand criticism of the state of Israel as “antisemitic”. Its legal adoption results in the marginalising and silencing of a range of opinions, including those voiced by Jewish critics of Zionism, by classifying them as antisemitic under the IHRA definition (german-foreign-policy.com reported). In November, Amnesty International, along with various other non-governmental organisations and with academics, artists and many others, warned that “disproportionate interference in freedom of expression, artistic and academic freedom, and freedom of assembly must be feared” in the event of the resolution’s implementation in law. These fears have proved to be well-founded. The latest example of repressive legislation occurred on 30 January 2025 when Bundestag passed another resolution calling for action to be taken against antisemitism in schools and universities. Here, too, the IHRA definition, which was never intended by its authors to become legally binding, provides for comprehensive repressive measures “up to and including the expulsion” of students.  (more...)

Berlin and antisemitism (II)

Background:

Berlin and antisemitism

How antisemitism is weaponized to silence critics of Israel: The case of Birju Dattani

 

Human rights scholar Birju Dattani was forced to resign as Canada’s Chief Human Rights Commissioner following a pro-Israel smear campaign. His case reveals how false charges of antisemitism are used to silence support for Palestinian rights.

“Another antisemite gets promoted by Trudeau. Birju Dattani, known for perpetuating hate toward Jews, has been appointed chief of the Canadian Human Rights Commission.”

That was the charge leveled by Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman against Birju Dattani, a human rights scholar who was forced to resign as Canada’s Chief Human Rights Commissioner before even assuming office. In a matter of days, a coordinated smear campaign—led by Lantsman, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), and far-right media figure Ezra Levant—turned a respected legal academic into a political liability. The accusations were not based on any actual evidence of antisemitism, but rather on his past critiques of Israel’s policies, which were deliberately distorted to frame him as an extremist.

Dattani is pushing back with three defamation lawsuits against Lantsman, CIJA, and Levant, accusing them of distorting his record to ruin his career. His case is not just about clearing his name—it tests whether racialized voices can speak freely in Canada without being silenced.

The attacks on Dattani followed a well-worn script used to silence racialized and marginalized voices who challenge Western foreign policy, especially on Israel. The moment he was appointed, his academic work on Israel-Palestine, a 2015 panel discussion, and years-old social media posts were selectively weaponized to paint him as antisemitic. Accusations of extremism, antisemitism, or even terrorism sympathies are routinely deployed to discredit critics of Israeli policies, and Dattani became the latest casualty of this smear machine.

Yet, an independent investigation commissioned by Justice Minister Arif Virani found no basis for the allegations.  (more...)

How antisemitism is weaponized to silence critics of Israel: The case of Birju Dattani

Arresting Truth: Canadian Journalist Yves Engler Charged and Held in Montreal

 

Engler’s arrest comes at a time of increasingly oppressive measures taken by police against Palestinian solidarity throughout the social democracies of the West.

Thursday morning, February 20, 2025, Yves Engler presented himself to Montreal police for arrest, as ordered. Though facing multiple charges, the Canadian author, journalist, and activist had no reason to believe he wouldn’t be bailed out in time to spend the weekend with his wife and young children. But that wasn’t to be.

Engler’s bail was denied Thursday evening without cause given, and again on Friday when he refused to agree to a gag order forbidding him to write about his ordeal. He writes,

“…(T)he officer told my lawyer she wants to impose a condition for my release saying that I’m not allowed to discuss the case. That is a flagrant violation of my freedom of expression, but is presumably designed to protect the police officer, Kurtz and her legal team from embarrassment.”

Initially, Engler was charged with “harassment and indecent communication” for his response to unelicited tweets on his X timeline from Canadian Zionist media personality, Dahlia Kurtz, (police say Engler describes Kurtz as a “genocide supporter” and “fascist”; accusations he readily admits are accurate).

Subsequently, Montreal police added charges, alleging Engler’s articles detailing his arrest by them and published at the Canadian Foreign Policy Institute, along with an email letter campaign soliciting support for his release, constitute a threat.  (more...)

Arresting Truth: Canadian Journalist Yves Engler Charged and Held in Montreal

FREE @EnglerYves. HE is RIGHT. @DahliaKurtz and ISRAEL and GENOCIDE are WRONG. ✊🏼🇵🇸 #FreeYvesEngler pic.twitter.com/MIXJ54yiqB

— Roger Waters ✊ (@rogerwaters) February 22, 2025

Free Yves Engler

 

In today’s Canada, offending Zionist influencers is enough to land you behind bars

On February 20, long-time Canadian Dimension columnist and contributor Yves Engler was arrested by Montréal police at the behest of pro-Israel media personality Dahlia Kurtz. In today’s Canada, offending Zionist influencers is apparently enough to land you behind bars.

Canadians involved in progressive politics, from the left-wing of the NDP and Greens to the Communist Party, read Engler’s work and admire his commitment to social struggle. For decades, he has organized in support of just causes, from helping stop war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at Concordia University in 2002, to tirelessly confronting Canadian politicians about their complicity in the genocide in Gaza, to penning a vast catalogue of work that shatters complacent illusions about Canada’s benevolence and reveals the often cynical, profit-driven, anti-democratic heart of Ottawa’s foreign policy.

This activism has made him all the right enemies—but as his arrest this month shows, it has also led to political persecution.

Engler’s targeting by Zionist forces and the police has startling implications for the Palestine solidarity movement, and the future of activism and political mobilization in Canada generally. As Alex Tyrell, leader of the Green Party of Québec, puts it: “I think it’s a shocking attack on free expression and democratic rights and criticism of Israel in Canada—a country that’s supposed to be a free, democratic society. We’re supposed to speak out about a genocide.”

Engler is facing numerous charges for his anti-genocide activism. The initial charges, instigated by Kurtz, accuse him of harassment because he criticized her anti-Palestinian social media posts. After Montréal police informed Engler of these charges, he wrote about his impending arrest on his website and organized an ongoing letter-writing campaign in which thousands have urged the police to drop the charges. Absurdly, Montréal police claimed that the letter-writing campaign constitutes harassment of the police force itself. They heaped on four new charges: intimidation, harassment, harassing communication, and “entrave” (interference) against the police investigator who informed Engler of his looming arrest.  (more...)

Free Yves Engler

Yves’ father here, providing an update about Yves who is currently detained at the Bordeaux jail until at least Monday.

Today the prosecutors refused to free him unless he would agree not to speak publicly about the case including naming directly or indirectly the influencer who… pic.twitter.com/8z9aIc7796

— Yves Engler (@EnglerYves) February 21, 2025

The Secrets Known Only to the Inner Elites

 

We were all taught that Aristotle was a pupil of Plato and that these two Greek philosophers are the anchors of Western thought.  Paul shines a light on the conflict between these two and how these two philosophies have impacted us to this day.

Paul Glumaz's presentation of the "SECRETS KNOWN ONLY TO THE INNER ELITES" is based on a 1978 work by that title, by Lyndon LaRouche.