What exactly does Heather McPherson like about Irwin Cotler’s unremitting defence of Israel no matter how many thousands of children it bombs or starves to death? No matter its internal system of apartheid. No matter its ethnic cleansing, plain for all to see.
During the NDP leadership race I am making it my mission to ensure the party breaks its ties to someone who has become a saintly figure by expressing moral outrage at official enemies while endorsing or ignoring Canada’s international abuses.
In Friday’s Globe and Mail, Cotler was quoted criticizing Canada joining France, the UK and 145 other countries in announcing its (conditional) recognition of Palestine. The former Liberal justice minister also co-authored a National Post opinion piece criticizing Mark Carney’s decision, while failing to mention the holocaust in Gaza. It concludes, “If Canada moves forward with this framework, it will almost certainly be complicit — however inadvertently — in the creation of another authoritarian terrorist state in the Middle East, rather than a peaceful democratic one, thereby decreasing, rather than increasing, the possibility of securing a lasting peace in the region.”
Cotler has published a slew of articles justifying Israel’s holocaust in Gaza, including a recent Jerusalem Post commentary headlined, “How will Israel find legal justice for the atrocities of October 7?” He aggressively promoted Israel’s recent assault on Iran and, according to a November Canadian Jewish News article, is “advising Israel’s leaders how to deal with the ICC [International Criminal Court] team.” At 85 years of age, Cotler has also attended multiple rallies supporting Israel’s holocaust in Gaza.
Over the past half century Cotler has probably been Canada’s most important promoter of an apartheid state terrorizing West Asia. Previously, Cotler pressured the ICC to ignore Israeli war crimes and opposed the International Court of Justice advising member states on their responsibility vis a vis Israel’s illegal occupation. He’s also pushed Ottawa to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem while attending events put on by the racist Jewish National Fund and meeting with far-right colonists seeking to cleanse occupied East Jerusalem of Palestinians.
In 2021 Cotler rallied behind Israel’s violence and earlier defended its shooting of ‘march of return’ protesters in Gaza as well as the 2014 and 2009 attacks on Gaza that left nearly 4,000 dead. Just after Israel killed 1,200 Lebanese in the summer of 2006 Cotler spoke to a conference of top Israeli military officials on the importance of managing the message in modern war.
Since at least Israel’s 1982 invasion of Lebanon, which saw 15,000 civilians killed, Cotler has been arguing that criticism of Israel is the “new antisemitism”.
NDP leadership contender Heather McPherson supports Cotler. Amidst Israel’s starvation of Gaza, she spoke at a June 11 press event chaired by Cotler critical of China’s treatment of a billionaire. In November 2024 McPherson (presumably) joined the rest of the House of Commons in unanimously praising Cotler’s “contribution to the defence of human rights” (at the time NDP MP Alexandre Boulerice told CBC Cotler was a “remarkable” individual.)
In June 2024 McPherson spoke at an event on Sudan organized by Cotler’s Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights while in April 2022 she signed a Raoul Wallenberg Centre statement on an imprisoned Uyghur rights advocate. In June 2023 the NDP foreign affairs critic spoke at a presser chaired by Cotler about an imprisoned Russian dissident.
In November 2022 McPherson and NDP leader Jagmeet Singh met with Cotler, capitalist Bill Browder and others. After another meeting that month McPherson wrote, “this afternoon, Professor Irwin Cotler and I spoke about how we can work together to protect humans rights in Canada and around the world. I am grateful to him for sharing his wisdom with me.”
I couldn’t find any evidence of McPherson ever criticizing Cotler’s depraved genocidal Jewish supremacy.
Beyond Israel, Cotler supported NATO’s destruction of Libya, Paul Kagame’s violent regime and the ouster of Venezuela’s government. Cotler’s human rights activism is almost solely focused on regimes targeted by the US empire. Cotler has become a saintly figure by expressing moral outrage at official enemies while endorsing or ignoring Canada’s international abuses.
While she’s likely become uncomfortable with Cotler’s promotion of Israel, McPherson is attracted to his ‘imperial human rights’ activism. I am revolted by the hypocrisy and have written nearly a dozen articles critical of Cotler. I have also confronted him in person. In 2019 I was among several members of the Quebec Movement for Peace who challenged Cotler during a speaking event at Concordia university on “Canada as a Human Rights leader”. A few days later members of all parties in the House of Commons condemned the incident.
At a Montreal premiere of the 2022 documentary First to Stand: The Cases and Causes of Irwin Cotler I called the former minister a “fraud”. In response arch Jewish supremacist Liberal MP Anthony Housefather posted, “Irwin Cotleris one of the greatest human rights defenders and greatest Canadians of our times. He is 82 years old. This weekend was the premiere of a movie about his life’s work. Yet a ‘so called’ activist chose to disrupt the event. Just deplorable behaviour.”
If I become leader of the NDP I would distance the party from a human rights fraud promoting Israel’s unspeakable crimes.
Check out my new website
You must be logged in to post a comment.