Why MUST Omar Alghabra be REMOVED from The Canadian Council about Antisemitism?

Omar Alghabra should not serve on a Canadian advisory council tasked with combating antisemitism due to a pattern of past statements and associations that undermine credibility on this specific issue. 

Core Concerns Rooted in Public Record

Alghabra, a former Liberal MP and Minister of Transport, previously served as president of the Canadian Arab Federation (CAF). During that period and around it, he made several public comments that downplayed or contextualized groups and figures designated as terrorist entities by Canada:

•  In a 2006 interview with the Jewish Tribune, Alghabra stated he did not believe Hamas wanted the elimination of Israel. This was after Hamas’s 1988 charter explicitly called for Israel’s destruction (a position it has not fully renounced in practice). 

•  He objected to media descriptions of the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades as a terrorist group, even after Canada had officially designated it as such in 2003, calling the label a “biased qualifier.” 

•  Following Yasser Arafat’s death in 2004, Alghabra praised him as someone who “played a tremendous role in highlighting the Palestinian struggle,” despite Arafat’s leadership of groups responsible for numerous terrorist attacks against civilians during the intifadas. 

These positions were expressed well before October 7, 2023, and Alghabra has since described Hamas as a terrorist organization in parliamentary debates and condemned the October 7 attacks. However, the earlier record raises legitimate questions about consistency and judgment when addressing the ideological drivers of antisemitism, including rejectionist groups whose charters and actions explicitly target Jews. 

Relevance to Antisemitism

Antisemitism today often manifests through the lens of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, where legitimate criticism of Israeli policy can blur into denial of Jewish self-determination, glorification of violence against Jews, or conspiracy-laden rhetoric. Councils addressing antisemitism require members with a demonstrated ability to clearly distinguish between policy critique and tropes that hold Jews collectively responsible or excuse violence targeting them.

Alghabra’s history as a vocal advocate for Palestinian causes, including criticizing a Toronto police chief for participating in a “Walk with Israel” event and associations with the CAF (which opposed terrorist designations for Hamas and Hezbollah), suggests a perspective that may prioritize one side’s narrative. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre publicly questioned the appointment, citing past lobbying to keep Hezbollah legal.  Jewish community leaders and rabbis, such as Rabbi Zolly Claman, have called the inclusion shocking and insulting. 

Effective anti-antisemitism efforts demand broad trust from the Jewish community, which faces record incidents in Canada (thousands documented post-October 7). Appointing someone with this baggage risks eroding that trust, politicizing the council, and signaling that past equivocations on terror groups are not disqualifying.