Canadian commissioner resigns after Israel comments probe

Scholar Birju Dattani. (Twitter @bnaibrithcanada)
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Updated 13 August 2024
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Canadian commissioner resigns after Israel comments probe

  • The probe’s findings, detailed in a report released on Monday, found that Dattani had omitted the name Mujahid Dattani in his background check forms, which he’d used in online activities and speaking engagements on the Middle East

OTTAWA: Canada’s new human rights commissioner resigned Monday — before ever starting the job — after concerns were raised by Jewish advocacy organizations over his past comments on Israel.
Scholar Birju Dattani was appointed to the role in June, and was set to being working last Thursday, but announced that day he would take a leave of absence while Justice Minister Arif Virani considered the results of an independent investigation.
On Monday, he said in an online post that he has “agreed to resign as Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, effective today.”
“I remain a steadfast believer in the Commission’s work, mandate, and its importance to our democracy,” he added.
The probe’s findings, detailed in a report released on Monday, found that Dattani had omitted the name Mujahid Dattani in his background check forms, which he’d used in online activities and speaking engagements on the Middle East.
The Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs pointed to a post under that name that compared Israel to Nazi Germany. Dattani told public broadcaster CBC it had been intended to generate a conversation.
The report found there was no evidence that Dattani, who was raised Hindu but converted to Islam, is anti-Semitic.
“We cannot find that Mr. Dattani harbored or harbors any beliefs that would be characterized as anti-Semitic or that he has demonstrated any biases (conscious or unconscious) toward Jews or Israelis,” it said.
However, the report concluded that Dattani should have been more forthcoming in the job application, and said he “deliberately de-emphasized the manner in which his academic work was critical of the State of Israel in respect of its treatment of Palestinians” in interviews and materials submitted to investigators.
 

 


Pressure builds for answers over Swiss bar fire after victims identified

Updated 1 min 16 sec ago
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Pressure builds for answers over Swiss bar fire after victims identified

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All 40 victims of New Year fire now identified

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Prosecutors say ‘fountain candles’ likely cause of blaze

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Most of victims of bar fire were teenagers, youngest 14

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Couple who ran the bar under criminal investigation

CRANS-MONTANA, Switzerland: Pressure was building for answers on Monday from the investigation into a New Year bar fire in a Swiss ski resort that killed 40 people, after authorities said they had now identified all the victims, most of whom were teenagers.
The Alpine getaway of Crans-Montana in the canton of Valais united in mourning on Sunday with condolences coming in from leaders ranging from Pope Leo to Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Prosecutors said the fire that spread rapidly in the ‌early hours of January ‌1 was likely caused by sparkling candles igniting the ‌ceiling ⁠of ​the ‌bar’s basement.

CRIMINAL INVESTIGATION
Authorities are investigating the two people who ran the bar on suspicion of crimes including homicide by negligence. On Sunday, police said circumstances did not currently merit them being put under arrest and they did not see a flight risk.
On Monday morning, Swiss newspaper Blick said anger over the case was growing.
“Why are the couple running the bar free?” the paper said on its front page, pasted over ⁠a photo of mourners and media gathered around the huge pile of flowers left in front of the “Le ‌Constellation” bar.
The youngest victims of the blaze, which ‍also injured well over 100 people, ‍were only 14 years old, and the dead were from all around Europe, ‍including several from France and Italy. Swiss authorities have not named the victims.
Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said in a social media post that “in civilized Switzerland, the prison gates will have to open for quite a few people.”
Salvini said there had been a ​failure to ensure the bar’s basement was safe, questioning the emergency systems and whether there had been enough inspections.

SILENT PROCESSION
Aika Chappaz, a local ⁠resident who took part in a silent procession through the town on Sunday, said justice must be done for the sake of future generations.
“It’s crucial that such a tragedy never happens again. And the investigation must be thorough, because it’s so unbelievable,” she said.
Tages-Anzeiger, another leading Swiss newspaper, said questions must be answered about the age checks at the bar, the soundproofing material used in the basement and the standards governing use of the so-called fountain candles.
One of the bar’s two operators, Jacques Moretti, told Swiss media that Le Constellation had been checked three times in 10 years and that everything was done according to the rules.
Valais authorities say investigators were checking ‌if the bar had undergone its annual building inspections, but that the town had not raised concerns or reported defects to the canton.