My interview with Yahoo News! about the growing ties between Canada and Israel and my book, The Palestine Laboratory:
When Evan Solomon, the Canadian minister for artificial intelligence and digital information, posted to X about his meeting with Idoo Moed, the Israeli ambassador to Canada, last month, the ensuing backlash was swift.
“This morning, I met with Israel’s ambassador to Canada as part of ongoing engagement on technology, AI, and economic development,” Solomon had written on January 26. “Dialogue matters, particularly in complex times.”
Vancouver-based family lawyer Carmen Alvarez was one of many Canadians to call out the post: “This is sickening AND unsurprising,” she wrote. “Israel’s use of technology to surveil, brutalize, and murder Palestinians is well documented (see @antloewenstein’s The Palestine Laboratory). I believe @liberalparty and @MarkJCarney know better, they simply choose not to do better.”
Yahoo Canada reached out to Solomon’s office and received the following reply:
“The Minister’s recent travel to the UAE and Qatar, along with ongoing engagement with Saudi Arabia, has focused on strengthening cooperation in areas such as life sciences, research partnerships, and broader economic development.
“Within this broader regional engagement, Minister Solomon met with Israel’s Ambassador to Canada. During the discussion, the Minister reaffirmed Canada’s longstanding support for a two-state solution and durable security for Palestinians, Israelis, and all communities in the region, and reiterated the Government of Canada’s firm views on the conflict, including concerns related to settlement expansion. The Minister emphasized that Canada’s approach to international engagement remains grounded in democratic values, respect for human rights, and international law.”
Investigative journalist Antony Loewenstein (the author Alvarez mentioned in her tweet), would beg to differ with Solomon’s statement.
Loewenstein has covered the Israel-Palestine conflict for two decades. His best-selling and award-winning book, The Palestine Laboratory: How Israel Exports the Technology of Occupation Around the World, is also the subject of a documentary series.
“I see this meeting as opportunism and shamelessness,” he tells Yahoo Canada. “It’s also a cover for racism.”
We spoke to Loewenstein from his home in Sydney, Australia, about what Canada’s agenda could be in aligning itself more closely with Israel — the state a UN Commission has confirmed is committing genocide in the Gaza Strip.
Read the whole interview: Author of ‘Palestine Laboratory’ questions Canada’s interest in ‘suite of surveillance’ from Israel