Tafsik, a Canadian Jewish civil rights group, has filed a Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario (HRTO) case against Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow over comments she made about a genocide in Gaza.
The HRTO resolves claims of discrimination and harassment under the Human Rights Code.
During a speech at the National Council of Canadian Muslims fundraising gala at the Pearson Convention Center on November 1, Chow said, “The genocide in Gaza impacts us all [sic].” She went on to compare Israel’s response to Hamas’s attacks to Japan’s invasion of China in WWII.
“This is false and harmful,” wrote Tafsik. “Expert and military assessments show no intent to target civilians; extensive measures are taken to minimize harm in urban warfare. Even Hamas’s own figures suggest a near 1:1 combatant-to-civilian ratio; Gaza’s population has grown since before October 7, 2023.”
Tafsik said it will present evidence and seek accountability for her actions. “Those three words were a slap in the face to Jews in Toronto, across Canada, and around the world, an unforgivable betrayal, and a disgraceful distortion of reality,” added Tafsik Executive Director Amir Epstein.
He went on to call for Chow to be “formally excommunicated and permanently rejected by the Jewish community and all Jewish organizations.”
B’nai Brith Canada announced that it has written to Toronto’s Integrity Commissioner, asking for an investigation into the mayor’s conduct.
'Elected officials must act with integrity': B’nai Brith Canada
“The City’s own Code of Conduct makes it clear that elected officials must act with integrity and impartiality and that their actions must withstand the closest public scrutiny,” the organization said. “When a mayor presents a legally disputed claim as fact, it crosses the line from leadership to bias.”
Avi Benlolo, CEO of the Abraham Global Peace Initiative, called for Chow to publicly apologize, calling her remarks “reckless and irresponsible.”
“At a time when Jewish communities are facing unprecedented levels of hate, it is unacceptable for the Mayor of Canada’s largest city to repeat a false and incendiary claim that has no basis in fact or law.”
“Her words lent legitimacy to propaganda that distorts history, minimizes real genocides, and incites antisemitism,” Benlolo added.
Michael Teper, president of the Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation, said Chow’s words were “a calculated insult to the almost two hundred thousand Jews in the Greater Toronto Area who support Israel.”
“She has manifestly demonstrated that she is unfit to continue as mayor of Canada’s largest city [and] has utterly forfeited the confidence of Toronto’s Jewish community.”
However, pro-Palestine organization Justice For All Canada praised Chow’s words and viewed the genocide acknowledgment as a success for its ‘Call it Genocide’ campaign, which urges Prime Minister Mark Carney and the government to formally recognize Israel’s genocide in Gaza at the federal level.