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In Canada, the IHRA definition has begun to stifle pro-Palestinian voices
It is no coincidence that the IHRA definition of antisemitism is being advanced in Canada amidst an increasingly hostile environment toward critics of Israel.
Protest in solidarity with Gaza in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, July 15, 2012. (Heri Rakotomalala/Flickr)
In 2019, under the guise of combating racism and bigotry, Canada adopted the highly problematic definition of antisemitism promulgated by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA), which conflates political criticism of the state of Israel with anti-Jewish bigotry.
Under this working definition, legitimate critiques of Israel and its policies, such as “claiming that the existence of a State of Israel is a racist endeavor,” may be condemned as antisemitic. Many critics have rightly warned that these provisions threaten the free speech rights of Canadians and will likely be used to silence criticism of Israel.
5 min read
In October 2014, protesters in dozens of cities and towns in Turkey tried to pressure the government into acting against Islamic State militants in Kobani, a Kurdish town in Syria. Police and demonstrators clashed violently. Among those thought to be involved were opposition political parties such as the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP).
Six years later, on Sept. 25, 2020, Carleton University PhD student and Canadian permanent resident Cihan Erdal was arrested in Turkey, along with 81 others, for his involvement in HDP at the time of the 2014 violence.
With the actual charges against him still unclear three months later, supporters in Canada are pushing to get him freed.