B’nai Brith Canada on Thursday formally demanded that the Canadian government modify the roster of its newly minted human rights panel, warning that the inclusion of two specific appointees has severely compromised the body's integrity.
The backlash follows the speech in Toronto by Prime Minister Mark Carney earlier this week, in which he announced that the newly formed Ministerial Advisory Council on Rights, Equality, and Inclusion, would be tasked with addressing antisemitism.
However, B'nai Brith Canada raised sharp alarms over the background of two selected members, arguing their past actions create a "reasonable perception of bias, specifically around issues relating to antisemitism."
The advocacy group took direct aim at former Member of Parliament Omar Alghabra, citing his previous leadership tenure at the Canadian Arab Federation. B’nai Brith Canada noted that Alghabra headed the federation when it actively opposed the Canadian government's decision to designate Hamas, Hezbollah, and Islamic Jihad as terrorist entities. He faced further scrutiny for criticizing domestic media outlets that labeled the Al-Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigades as a terrorist group after Canada had already formally blacklisted the organization.
B'nai Brith Canada argued that because the advisory panel has been explicitly ordered to evaluate the drivers of rising domestic antisemitism, including extremist rhetoric and the glorification of terrorism, Alghabra’s presence is entirely counterproductive.
"A member of the Council tasked with confronting antisemitism and protecting human rights more broadly, who has undermined Canada’s efforts to confront terrorism, cannot credibly be seen as capable of supporting efforts to combat antisemitism and protect human rights. As a result, we have called on the government to remove Alghabra from the Council or, at minimum, formally recuse him from all Council matters related to antisemitism," it said in a statement.
The second appointment triggering condemnation is that of Avnish Nanda, an Alberta-based attorney. Nanda previously provided legal representation to participants of the anti-Israel protest encampment established at the University of Alberta in May 2024.
B'nai Brith Canada noted that the demonstration was part of a broader, coast-to-coast wave of campus occupations that left Jewish students feeling unsafe, intimidated, and excluded. The university's own Board of Governors later received a report recognizing that an art installation featured within that specific encampment served as a symbol of hatred toward the Jewish community.
While acknowledging Nanda’s professional right to select his clients, the group argued his appointment to a body tasked with addressing hostile university environments effectively "erodes the Jewish community’s trust in the Council and compromises its credibility." Consequently, the organization has called on Ottawa to formally recuse Nanda from any council proceedings touching upon antisemitism.
The organization emphasized that the government's current strategy risks alienating the very community it is ostensibly trying to protect, concluding that "public confidence is essential to any credible response to antisemitism."
"Jewish Canadians must be able to trust that the Council’s work will be independent, objective, and guided by an understanding of how contemporary antisemitism, including hateful manifestations of anti-Zionism, materializes. The Council’s present composition jeopardizes its credibility, the integrity of its recommendations, and creates a reasonable perception of bias, specifically around issues relating to antisemitism," B'nai Brith Canada stated.