Nathaniel Lipkus

Enough with the “this is not who we are” statements and the feigned outrage from people who seem eternally surprised. For years the government has talked while communities have been attacked. We called on them more than two years ago to take concrete action: enforce the law, confront foreign threats, and ensure Canadians can worship without fear. Here is the blueprint for steps that should be taken immediately, after years of dithering: Establish an Anti-Hate Crime Task Force. Empower Integrated National Security Enforcement Teams with a clear mandate to prevent attacks on faith communities, disrupt threats, and prosecute offenders. Strengthen protection for targeted communities. Double funding and remove red tape from the Security Infrastructure Program so synagogues, schools, and community centres can quickly access security funding BEFORE an attack happens. Expel Iranian regime operatives. Years after finally designating the IRGC as a terrorist organization and promising to remove its agents, they are still here. The government has dragged its feet while IRGC operatives intimidate Canadians. Get them out. Establish a Foreign Influence Registry. After years of broken promises, diaspora communities are still being targeted by foreign regimes operating on Canadian soil. Create the registry to expose and deter intimidation and interference and do it now.

כמה הערות מהירות על איראן: 1. לא מתרשם יותר מידי מדיווחי "ארה"ב זקוקה ליותר זמן". ארה"ב בעלת יכולות יוצאות דופן. הכל נתון להחלטת הנשיא. 2. דיווחים על ירי המוני במפגינים של כוחות הדיכוי האיראניים אינם סימן טוב למהפכה. מה ש*רוצים* לשמוע הוא סירוב של כוחות הביטחון והצטרפות שלהם. חולשה היא עניין יסודי ונחוץ. 3. בהקשר זה דיווחים מעניינים על חיסולים של גורמי משמרות מהפכה/משטרה בידי המחאה. מחיקת דרגי פיקוד באיראן עבדה היטב לישראל במלחמה. אם כי זה היה שיטתי. 4. מהפכות לא מתרחשות כי העם ברחובות, אלא כי מהפכנים יודעים לקחת את הכוח ברחובות ולהמיר אותו לשלטון. זה לא אני כתבתי- זו חנה ארנדט. מי הם המהפכנים? 5. ראוי לשים לב לתפקידו היחסית מרכזי של הנסיך פהלווי. ב-79, חיפשו המהפכנים (רבים מהם ליברלים, סוציאליסטים) דמות שיכולה למשוך את הציבור, סמל לכל מה שהשאה הוא לא- צנוע, דתי, מסורתי. חומייני, הגולה בפריז, היה עבור חלקם מין דמות אב סמלית כזו. התברר שהוא דיקטטור לא צנוע, לא מסורתי. אך הנקודה היא מילוי הואקום. ב79 כמו גם ב2026, אין דמות אב לאופוזיציה הליברלית. אין מנדלה ואין האוול. לוואקום הזה מגיע פהלווי, עם תמיכה מלוכנית חזקה. מניסיוני האישי, משפחה שתמכה בפהלווי ב79, גם הנכדים תומכים בו. האם הם רוצים מלוכה אבסולוטית? לא. 5. כפי שציינו מומחים לאיראן כמו @yashar @RZimmt ואחרים, המשטר הזה מרופד ומרפד שכבות רחבות בחברה האיראנית. הרצון שייפול כמו מגדל קלפים מובן. אך גם ב79 זה לקח זמן רב להתעצב. וככל שהדברים הופכים קטלניים יותר, חסידי המשטר עשויים לחשוש שחייהם וחיי משפחותיהם בסכנה- ואלה מאות אלפים אם לא יותר. זה יכול להגביר נחישות. 6. המבחן הוא משולש: שילוב של מאסות ברחובות, היסדקות נחישות המשטר ומדכאיו לירות במפגינים, ויכולת ארגון יוצאת דופן להשתלטות על השלטון עצמו. האלמנט האחרון דורש התארגנות ותכנית. האומץ האדיר של האיראנים הוא השראה לכל מי שמקדש חירות. אין די בכך.

My Globe op-ed on the “protests” in residential neighbourhoods that are not aimed at a government office, institution, public event, or high-profile personality. Rather, they seek to harass or intimidate individuals based on religion or political beliefs. theglobeandmail.com/gift/bc5ccfd82…

Jewish man beaten in broad daylight infront of his small children in "Modern Canada". Watch as the vile coward tosses his kippah into the fountain after the attack. Legacy media silent.

Please listen and share freed hostage Eli Sharabi’s testimony. The world must know how evil Hamas is.

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We have lost Holocaust survivor Lily Ebert. She lived to almost 101. "They don't kiII all of us. Only most of us...They kiIIed us for no reason at all." She never stopped fighting for us. And we owe our lives to her. May Lily's memory forever be a blessing of light and strength.🕯️🤍

As Haverford College still ignores & enables anti-Semitism, Jews take note. Below a sad email from incoming student who decided he no longer interested in studying in an environment of anti-Semitism. I doubt the college cares. Not sure they won't be happier with fewer Jews 1/

For months our members have worked tirelessly to maintain public safety at hundreds of demonstrations of various sizes. At every event, our members have valued, respected, and upheld everyone’s Charter rights. But these rights are not unlimited. When those in attendance have broken the law, our members have been patient and professional, always opting to deescalate and provide warnings at every opportunity, often to the point of criticism and ridicule from others. In return, officers have been threatened with injury or death. Last weekend, a woman threw horse feces at our officers, and another woman used a flagpole to spear at others. A police officer was targeted with verbal attacks, and we have heard other female officers express concerns they are being targeted at these events in ways their male colleagues are not. Another officer has been targeted on social media by the same community he proudly represents. Mayor Chow has been silent and six local councillors – including two members of the Toronto Police Services Board – have refused to condemn the attacks against our members. Our members deserve support from the Mayor and Council, especially Councillors Amber Morley and Lily Cheng. As members of the TPSB they are briefed regularly on the status of protest activity and the increasing volatility facing our communities and officers. As the Association representing more than 8,000 uniform and civilian members of the Toronto Police Service, we want to know: Will Mayor Chow condemn the message sent by these councillors and come out publicly in support of our members? Will Councillors Morley and Cheng recuse themselves from the police services board and, if not, will Mayor Chow remove them? The public and our members deserve to know where they stand.

Former Supreme Court of Canada Justice Abella on the genocide case against Israel: “As a lawyer, I find it shameful; as a Jew, I find it heartbreaking; and as the child of Holocaust survivors, I find it unconscionable.” theglobeandmail.com/gift/bc5ccfd82…

It feels like we’re headed into exceptionally difficult times in the next handful of years. If we do, it will make the vast majority of the stuff we spend our time fighting and bickering about seem downright frivolous. It seems worth taking time to understand what the most meaningful and foundational aspects of our society we want to fight for are and not take for granted what past generations fought so hard to achieve. While not perfect, what we have today is the result of extreme effort, not a given, and can be easily lost. I write this out of a fear that we won’t figure this out in time and out of frustration that society is spending so much of its resources making mountains out of what will soon be obvious are molehills while existentially dangerous forces loom at so many gates. We will need to figure out how to passionately unite around some sense of meaning we want to fight for and move out of our often lethargic and diffuse skirmish-oriented division. I hope we can, and in time.

My plea to all Americans: —Learn the history of the Jewish people —Reject the antisemitic double standard being applied to the plight of Jewish victims —Understand that we defend Israel’s existence as we fear a world where the place of refuge for Jewish people no longer exists

This whole “I don’t hate Jews, I just hate all the Jews in Israel (half the world’s Jews) and the well over 90 pc of diaspora Jews who support Israel’s existence” thing is getting tired. If you are hating 98 pc of the world’s Jewish population, you hate Jews.

The Israeli U-21 team played on Friday against Poland. UEFA did not authorize holding a minute of silence for the victims and abductees by Hamas on 7/10. Yet both teams showed that they have greater dignity: they did not play the first minute of the game

Danielle Haas’ farewell email to her colleagues @hrw: Dear Human Rights Watch, Because we live in dangerous times and this is a human rights organization dedicated to free speech, open dialogue, and rights for all, I’m sending a final email before leaving HRW. I’m hopeful, but wary, that an organization with a mission to “Expose. Investigate. Change” can do just that when it comes to its own practices regarding its Israel work, with authenticity and without retaliation. When I joined Human Rights Watch over 13 years ago as senior editor, I did so with years of experience in journalism covering the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and time in academia. Human Rights Watch seemed to be a good blend of both; a leading human rights organization dedicated to rigorous research, focused on international law and human suffering, with a mandate to bring about change. I believed in, and stayed for, the broader mission. But as the organization grew and its composition shifted, so too did the focus, tone, and framing of its Israel-Palestine work. Following the Hamas massacres in Israel on October 7, years of institutional creep culminated in organizational responses that shattered professionalism, abandoned principles of accuracy and fairness, and surrendered its duty to stand for the human rights of all. HRW’s initial reactions to the Hamas attacks failed to condemn outright the murder, torture, and kidnapping of Israeli men, women, and children. They included the “context” of “apartheid” and “occupation” before blood was even dry on bedroom walls. These responses were not, as some have since characterized it internally, a messaging misstep in the tumult after the Hamas assault. It was not the failure of a few to follow robust internal mechanisms of editing and quality control, as others have claimed. It did not happen in a vacuum. Rather, HRW’s initial response was the fruition of years of politicization of its Israel-Palestine work that has frequently violated basic editorial standards related to rigor, balance, and collegiality when it comes to Israel. It was the expression of years of select historical and political framing that could always contextualize and “explain” why Jewish Israeli lives were lost in Palestinian violence. And it was the domination of HRW’s Israel-Palestine work by some voices that drown out others to the point where those who feel uncomfortable with HRW’s approach and processes – and they do exist – feel silenced. To be clear: focus on, and criticism of, Israeli policies and actions is valid for a human rights organization. But what I know from over 13 years at HRW is: * Israel has featured in the World Report annual global review of human rights I oversaw for more than a decade almost as extensively as world powers including China, Russia, and the United States, and that the Israel-Palestine chapter has always been longer than those of rights-abusing goliaths such as Iran and North Korea. * The 2021 “Apartheid” report, hailed internally in its goal to affect “narrative change,” sealed the slide. HRW knew its careful, legal argument would rarely be read in full. And there is little doubt it has not been by those – including Hamas supporters – who now bandy about the term with appalling ease. It’s a one-word gift to those who want to characterize Israel in as few words as possible with as little nuance as possible, a go-to “context” for any fate that befalls Israel and Jewish Israelis; 120 HRW researchers recently signed a petition calling for its inclusion in a press release about Israeli hostages. * Internal fora nominally dedicated to both Israel and Palestine were, in practice, mostly dedicated to expressions of outrage over Israeli abuses and their consequences, both real and speculated. The focus on Israel dominated those spaces both before and after October 7, including the links shared; the space given to colleagues to articulate their lived realities and trauma; and ultimately advocacy. * Some types of Israeli-Palestine expertise were valued more than others. There was no value placed on having a Jewish Israeli staff member who spoke Hebrew, had covered the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for international media, a rich academic background, and 17 years’ immersion in the country. The profile of those entrusted with HRW’s-related work is different. The only contact I had with Israel-Palestine content over the years, despite working on virtually every other area of the world, was as World Report editor. I received thinly veiled insinuations and pushback when I highlighted factual inaccuracies in the Israel-Palestine chapter that were later corrected. * HRW has so little credibility for most Israelis they do not even trust it with their corpses. Zaka, the emergency responder group that collected body parts after the Hamas massacres, said it did not want to talk to HRW because its members did not have faith the organization would not misuse and distort their eyewitness accounts of the carnage they had seen. * When I named the constellation of my experiences over years to a senior manager as feeling a lot like antisemitism, he replied: “You are probably right.” He did not ask or do anything further. Three weeks after the October 7 massacres, Human Rights Watch told staff it was “proud” of its response to the crisis. The self-affirmation failed to address output that included, but is not limited to: HRW’s first matter-of-fact announcement following the October 7 massacres that barely addressed what had happened, contrasting starkly with its thousands of statements over the years condemning a range of human rights abuses: “Palestinian armed groups carried out a deadly assault on October 7, 2023, that killed several hundred Israeli civilians and led to Israeli counterstrikes that killed hundreds of Palestinians,” Human Rights Watch said in releasing a questions and answers document about the international humanitarian law standards governing the current hostilities.” An early press release that could easily be construed as blaming the victim: “The unlawful attacks and systematic repression that have mired the region for decades will continue, so long as human rights and accountability are disregarded.” A piece on Israeli attacks on Gaza being devastating for Palestinians with disabilities that failed to mention the devastating impact of Hamas’ attacks on Israelis with disabilities. They included those murdered on October 7, among them a 17-year-old girl with muscular dystrophy and cerebral palsy killed at a music festival; those who are now disabled because of the attacks; and Israeli hostages with pre-existing health conditions ranging from heart problems to diabetes. Lack of context when using controversial figures that came from a Hamas-run ministry: “[Washington Post] Reporter Adam Taylor quoted Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch Omar Shakir, who said, “Everyone uses the figures from the Gaza Health Ministry because those are generally proven to be reliable. In the times in which we have done our own verification of numbers for particular strikes, I’m not aware of any time which there’s been some major discrepancy.” It is not logical, not possible, and not the case that everyone at HRW agrees with its pre- and post-October 7 Israel work or feels safe. Instead, it is a deeply worrying indication that staff are self-censoring because they fear isolation if they speak and that nothing will be done even if they do. It is a warning that they are cowed by the way in which critics of Human Rights Watch are talked about internally, and by the tone and content of banter before and during meetings, in listservs, and in message chats. Maybe they’re also not reassured by responses like the one senior management sent me regarding a recent email I sent them, in which they said they “appreciate” my “feedback” and “learn” from it. I hope so, but I doubt it. The serious professional concerns I raised over the years with the Program Office, General Counsel, and MENA managers never went anywhere. They were always received – it appeared – through a filter of me being a Jew and/or Israeli, even though Muslim and Arab staff and those with overt political backgrounds are trusted as advocates and to oversee research. Also, my comments are not “feedback.” Rather, they amount to a charge and a challenge to Human Rights Watch: tackle the long-standing issues infecting your Israel work and the hostile internal climate that Hamas’ attacks brought into sharp relief but did not birth. Face down the conscious and unconscious biases that inform them. Address inaccuracies by omission. Do so not because you are under pressure to be seen to be listening, but because you respect the professionalism and expertise of your many thoughtful, serious colleagues from diverse backgrounds who cannot do their work without fear of stigma and retaliation if they speak. Do so because you care about the health of the organization, upholding your internal standards, and ensuring human rights advocacy is not a fig leaf for political beliefs, or worse. Do so because you want not just to claim your mantle of moral authority, but to earn it. Dani

Never Again - is right NOW. What I said at the UN - about current lethal strain of ever-mutating #antisemitism - that fuelled genocidal atrocities perpetrated by Hamas on 10/7, & responses that deny/justify/support/attack Jews around the world in their wake. Silence is complicity. #NeverAgainIsNow

Bomb threats at Jewish schools in Toronto. Gun shots fired at Jewish schools in Montreal. If anyone does not yet get that incitement at demonstrations & on social media lead to attacks & threats against Jews please wake up now.

What happened to the Jewish population of the Middle East and North Africa? Why are there so few left? Maybe we can ask the students marching in universities campuses every week, shouting gibberish about genocide?

I’m at a loss of words to explain this. We’ve been through hell and are still struggling. Women and girls were murdered, tortured, terrorized and raped in the most inhumane ways possible. The evidence is overwhelming and undeniable. And yet again, the same denial mechanism inflicted on individual rape victims, are now inflicted against all of us – women, girls, mothers, sisters and daughters in Israel. By whom? By those who are supposed to know. To understand To believe. Instead of being offered help, we are all subject of a collective international denial. We find ourselves fighting a dual battle: one against these atrocities and another against silence, denial and hate. As a feminist scholar and activist, I’m ashamed for the entire movement. And I want to tell my students and millions of Jewish and Israeli women around the world - I’m sorry. I’m just so sorry.