CMPAC, CJPME, and over 60 civil society organizations have sent a letter to Ontario’s Ministers of Public Safety and Attorney General, condemning the politicization of the Hate Crimes Working Group (HCWG). The letter highlights the group’s role in targeting Palestinian-Canadians, Muslim-Canadians, and their allies advocating for Palestinian rights, particularly in the case of Assistant Crown Attorney Moiz Karimjee’s decision to drop charges against Lorna Bernbaum, who assaulted Palestinian activist Hayfa Abdelkhaleq during a protest. The letter argues that this decision reflects deep anti-Palestinian bias within Ontario’s justice system and perpetuates harmful stereotypes about Palestinians being violent or antisemitic.

The letter also outlines a broader pattern of politically motivated prosecutions and over-policing of Palestinian solidarity activists, pointing to recent incidents such as the Ottawa Police crackdown on activists and excessive police responses to protests against companies supporting Israeli policies. The signatories demand that the Ontario government dismantle or reform the HCWG, conduct an independent investigation into Karimjee’s bias, and drop all politically motivated charges against Palestinian solidarity activists. Additionally, they call for the recognition of anti-Palestinian racism within Ontario law and the withdrawal of support for the controversial IHRA definition of antisemitism.

Read the full letter here.



Picture Source: CBC Lite