Legal Brief Filed to Bar Former Israeli PM Naftali Bennett from Canada
Lawyers have filed a complaint on behalf of a Palestinian-Canadian and four Canadian organizations seeking to have the government declare former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett inadmissible to Canada before he is set to speak in Toronto on June 14. As lawyers Shane Martinez and Nicholas Pope have laid out in the complaint, Bennett should be denied entry to Canada pursuant to sections 35(1)(a) and (b) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.
As put forth in the complaint filed on Tuesday, May 29th, 2023, The federal government has “domestic and international legal obligations to exclude … perpetrators of atrocities.” To fulfill these objectives it has created “a legislative framework to prevent or deter entry, and remove individuals who have committed or are complicit in crimes against humanity, war crimes, or genocide.”
Bennett has been deeply involved in the development of illegal Israeli settlements in the Palestinian West Bank. According to a Peace Now report, the Bennett government significantly increased the development of illegal settlements on Palestinian land. The report also refers to Bennett’s support for the eviction of Palestinian families in East Jerusalem in favor of establishing illegal settler housing units there.
Illegal Settlements are War Crimes
Canada does not recognize permanent Israeli control over territories occupied since 1967 (the Golan Heights, the West Bank including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip). In fact, according to Canadian policy, the United Nations and international law, illegal Israeli settlements are war crimes.
Bennett is also alleged to have a history of violence and racism. He is accused of being involved in events leading to the massacre of 102 Lebanese citizens at Qana in 1996 and has openly called for the extrajudicial killing of Palestinians involved in confrontations with Israeli forces. It has been reported that when National Security Adviser Yaakov Amidror responded by saying “this is not legal,” Bennett replied, “I have killed lots of Arabs in my life – and there is no problem with that.”
The policy of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada states that “persons who have committed or been complicit in the commission of a war crime, a crime against humanity, genocide or any other reprehensible act, regardless of when or where these crimes occurred, are not welcome in Canada.” On that basis, Palestinian-Canadian complainant Khaled Mouammar and the organizations Just Peace Advocates, Canadian Foreign Policy Institute, Palestinian and Jewish Unity and Canada Palestine Association (Vancouver) have called upon the government of Canada to uphold the rule of law and bar Naftali Bennett from entering Canada. •
For information:
- Shane Martinez, (647) 717-8111, shane@martinezlaw.ca
- Nicholas Pope, (613) 656-6917, npope@hameedlaw.ca
Protest War Criminal Naftali Bennett in Toronto
6pm, WEDNESDAY 14 JUNE 2023
150 SYMES ROAD, TORONTO
Join us in protesting the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal’s State of the Union event with war criminal and former Zionist prime minister, Naftali Bennett. The event celebrates 75 years of Zionist violence, settler colonialism, and imperialism. Bennett was a military commander involved in the 1996 Qana massacre, where over 100 Lebanese citizens were killed. He has openly called for the extrajudicial killing of Palestinians, and is quoted saying “I have killed lots of Arabs in my life – and there is no problem with that.”
This event is moderated by Indigo Founder Heather Reisman, who is a long supporter of Zionism and established the HESEG Foundation for Lone Soldiers which financially supports Israeli Occupation Forces with more than $3-million worth of scholarships for further academic studies in Israel.
A legal brief filed by various human rights groups has called for the refusal of Bennett’s entry into the country.
Join us in asserting that WAR CRIMINALS ARE NOT WELCOME IN TORONTO and in combating Zionism wherever it resides!
