Irwin Cotler: Canada's recognition of Palestine is the wrong approach to regional peace

Cotler is no stranger to the notion of Palestinian statehood and a two-state solution. “I have been a supporter of two states for 50 years but not as an idle slogan. It must be two democratic states living side by side in peace and security, anchored in mutual acknowledgment of each other’s legitimacy,” he said.

However, Canada’s declaration, alongside the UK’s and France’s, was the wrong approach, he said. “What worried me about Carney’s action was not its support of two states,” Cotler explained. “What worried me was the unilateral recognition having the effect, if not the intent, of appearing to reward Hamas for its mass atrocities of October 7.”

Hamas praised Canada’s recognition, interpreting it as an emboldening step. Cotler compared the three initiatives: France’s unconditional recognition was “the worst.” The UK’s was “bad” because its conditions were imposed solely on Israel. And Canada’s was “the best of the three” because it was explicitly “predicated upon Hamas’s disarmament, Hamas having no further role in governance, and the establishment of a democratic Palestinian entity following free and fair elections.” But with elections absent for nearly 20 years, Cotler doubted the viability of such assurances.

In 2022, as Canada’s special envoy on combating antisemitism, Cotler raised three issues with then-Palestinian foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki: pay for slay; incitement in education; and antisemitic rhetoric in Palestinian media. “Maliki told me these issues would be addressed,” Cotler recalled, “but none have been.” He said that it was a mistake for Carney to suggest that the PA could serve as the foundation for a democratic Palestinian state, especially based on a single phone call that took place between Carney and Abbas.

Looking ahead, Cotler believes there are four immediate imperatives:

1. The unconditional and immediate release of all hostages

“Every day that the hostages remain in Hamas captivity is an ongoing crime against humanity,” Cotler said.

2. Ensuring protected humanitarian assistance

He mentioned reports that 90% of aid has been hijacked, calling instead for “sufficient and unfettered humanitarian assistance with protected delivery.”

3. A sustainable ceasefire, leading to the cessation of hostilities

4. A credible pathway to peace

Cotler ended on both an optimistic and a pessimistic note. “Peace,” he suggested, “could lead to the expansion of the Abraham Accords.” But he also acknowledged Israelis’ profound reluctance after the trauma of October 7.

Cotler said that the Iranian regime is at the forefront of transnational repression. “Following the Iran-Israel war, we have witnessed mass repression at home and strong transnational repression abroad – all continuing with impunity,” he said. “We have seen waves of arrests and executions of those accused of spying for Israel, while Iran has criminalized any support for the so-called ‘Zionist entity.’ What we have here is the conflation of domestic repression, transnational repression, and assassination, all under a culture of impunity.”

Recent threats against journalists have underscored the danger. “Just several days ago, Iran threatened journalists at Iran International not only with harassment but also execution,” Cotler noted. “More than that, Iran threatened to execute their families back in Iran if they continued their journalistic work abroad. This is the critical mass of repression – where domestic persecution merges with threats and assassinations abroad.”

Cotler warned of Iran’s “seven-fold threat”:

For Cotler, Canada has not taken the issue seriously enough. However, the winds are changing. “CSIS [Canadian Security Intelligence Service] has now recognized the Iranian threat as a prime concern, but we must operationalize that recognition. Transnational repression and assassination target democracies, including Canada, and our government must act accordingly.”

Cotler linked Iran’s repression to Russia’s impunity. “The century began with Vladimir Putin invading Chechnya, and nothing was done. Then Georgia. Then Crimea. Why should he not believe he could invade Ukraine?” he said.

Putin miscalculated, Cotler elaborated, underestimating Ukrainian resilience. However, Cotler worried about framing from abroad. “I am concerned that Trump views Ukraine transactionally – that territories can be traded. You cannot trade away territory and reward aggression. That only feeds Russia’s culture of impunity,” he said.

Cotler has been active in accountability. “I am a member of a high-level working group on the crime of aggression in Ukraine. The crime of aggression is the supreme international crime. In fact, it was the crime that the UN was created to combat 80 years ago. The crime of aggression gives rise to all others,” he said.

In June, Ukraine and the Council of Europe agreed to establish a special tribunal for this crime. Cotler’s Wallenberg Centre is helping set up an international commission for justice to oversee the tribunal, pursue accountability for deported Ukrainian children, seize Russian assets, and address sexual violence as a weapon of war.

But political pressure could derail progress. “Putin would like nothing more than to undermine the tribunal. Trump seeks a Nobel Peace Prize and wants to broker peace. We must ensure that this doesn’t become another culture of impunity but a culture of accountability,” he stressed.

On August 8, a haredi man was violently beaten in a Jewish area of Montreal, in front of his three daughters. The assault was caught on camera. For Cotler, this demonstrated the phenomenon in a looking glass. “The attack demonstrates what I call a religiously motivated hate crime as an identity or community crime. It is different from an attack on a particular individual.” Statistics Canada showed that in 2024, more than 70% of religiously motivated hate crimes affected Jews, 1% of the population. “The attacks reverberate in the community, within the Israeli community, the French community, and also the Canadian community,” Cotler said.

What’s more, “We read about hate crimes in Melbourne, in Paris, in the UK. And the FBI just came out a few days ago reporting that the highest level of hate crimes against Jews is in the US [the highest on record]. The haredi incident is so disturbing because it is a looking glass into the dramatic rise of hate crimes which are identity crimes, as they resonate not only domestically but also internationally,” he said.

According to Cotler, the warning signs were already clear before October 7. “The embers of antisemitism were burning before October 7,” he said. “They were identified in my findings as special envoy in 2021, and they remain relevant today because they have still not been appreciated or acted upon.”

Cotler cited a surge in antisemitic hate crimes at every level. “We are seeing high-level antisemitic crimes, incidents on the rise and only getting worse,” he said. While traditional sources of antisemitism from the radical Right, radical Left, and radical Islam remain dangerous, he emphasized a more disturbing development: its mainstreaming.

“One of my most important findings, intensified since October 7, is the mainstreaming, normalizing, and legitimizing of antisemitism in political culture, popular culture, entertainment, sports, and in particular the media culture,” Cotler warned. “What I did not mention then, but which now causes great apprehension, is the health sector because this is where Jews are being treated and are vulnerable.”

Beyond the spread of hateful rhetoric, Cotler sees a troubling shift in how former allies have responded. “We are not only seeing the erosion of allyship,” he said, “but the emergence of what I call the ‘bystander community.’ Worse still, in the aftermath of October 7, where atrocities were denied, we saw them not only denied but supported, justified, and at times even celebrated across these sectors. This has created a culture of impunity.”

That impunity, Cotler contends, stems from a lack of accountability. “In regard to the unprecedented explosion of antisemitism, leadership has been declarative, performative, and virtue signaling,” he said. “The necessary actions have not been taken.”

For Cotler, the stakes extend far beyond the Jewish community. “This explosion of antisemitism, unprecedented in its scope, is not only a threat to Jews – it is toxic to our democracy,” he stressed. “It is the canary in the mineshaft of global evil. In Canada as well, what we have learned all too painfully is that while it begins with Jews, it doesn’t end with Jews. This should be seen as a wake-up call for the democracies for what is at stake.”

He went further, describing antisemitism as “a threat to the individual and collective security of citizens of a democracy. In a word, antisemitism is a threat to the national security of Canada and other democracies,” he said.

However, while antisemitism has seeped deep into civil society, Cotler does not see the Canadian government following up with a systematic antisemitic campaign or push. In June 2025 the RCMP, Canada’s federal police service, announced it had opened a probe into dual Canadian-Israelis for war crimes, sending shock waves throughout Canada’s Jewish establishment.

“I don’t see RCMP investigations taking place,” Cotler remarked. “What occurred was what is called a ‘structural investigation’ – an opening of a portal because representations were made for that purpose by people who wanted to bring Israelis to justice. But at this point, I don’t see any indication of that being pursued.”

He believes that the government of Canada will maintain a certain cordiality toward Israel due to Israel’s democratic character. “Israel, while it may be an imperfect democracy, remains a democracy with a robust free press and independent judiciary, free and fair elections, and participation by the Arab minority in governance,” Cotler said. “I know that Netanyahu is undermining the guardrails of democracy in his attempt to fire the attorney-general in a way that is not consonant with the rule of law – with every former A-G coming out against it, regardless of political affiliation. But, despite it all, Israel is still appreciated by Canada: that Israel, though imperfect, remains a democracy.”

Speaking about Benjamin Netanyahu, Cotler also had criticism about him regarding the Canada-Israel relationship. “Prime Minister Netanyahu is one of the only Western leaders who never called to congratulate Mark Carney on becoming prime minister. He hasn’t called to engage with Carney at all,” he said.

Noting an absence of Israel’s public diplomacy, Cotler sees the theme as part of Netanyahu’s systematic approach, including with the United States, particularly in the loss of bipartisan support in the Democratic Party. “I noticed a statement made by former [Israeli] prime minister Naftali Bennett that ‘If this government invested as much time in public diplomacy as it does in domestic polarization, then our public diplomacy would be better off.’”

Criticism of Israel’s public diplomacy aside, Cotler had warm words for Israeli society. “The Israeli people have shown incredible courage and resilience and engagement, and that has crossed party lines when it comes to reservists in Gaza or their work in the healthcare of Israel and the like,” he said. “The people of Israel are a light unto the nations in their moral resilience and courage. To borrow from Martin Luther King, I have always said I believe that ‘the arc of history will bend toward justice.’ It will take time and we will have to help bend it, but I have confidence that the Israeli people will prevail.”■