A petition sponsored by NDP leadership contender Heather McPherson is facing growing backlash on Parliament Hill, with Friends of Israel urging MPs to reject it outright as discriminatory toward Jewish Canadians and Canadians of Israeli origin.Blacklock's Reporter says the Canadian Anti-Semitism Education Foundation has asked Parliament to dismiss Petition E-6783, warning it would single out Jews for unequal treatment under the law. The group said the proposal would violate the Canadian Human Rights Act by targeting people based on their ties to Israel.“The implication of the requests set out in Petition E-6783 would have the necessary effect of subjecting Jewish Canadians and Canadians of Israeli origin to discriminatory treatment,” the Foundation wrote in a formal submission. “Reject Petition E-6783 in its entirety.”McPherson, the Edmonton Strathcona MP, tabled the petition last Wednesday but declined to comment on its contents. The petition calls for mandatory background checks of all visitors from Israel, including Canadian citizens, and demands investigations under the Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act into Canadians and residents who served in the Israeli Defence Force..It also asks cabinet to create a federal website to collect information from alleged war crimes victims in Gaza and the West Bank, and directs the Canada Border Services Agency to screen Canadians returning from Israel for foreign military service. The petition cites no evidence to justify the measures.In addition, the proposal calls for scrutiny of the Hesig Foundation, a scholarship charity co-founded by Indigo Books CEO Heather Reisman and her husband, despite no allegations of wrongdoing.The Anti-Semitism Education Foundation said the petition should never have been accepted, arguing Parliament must clearly state that Canadians cannot be subjected to special screening or investigation solely because of service in the Israeli military or travel to and from Israel. It also warned against targeting charities operating legally under Canada Revenue Agency rules.McPherson has long been an outspoken critic of Israel and has accused Canadian manufacturers of exporting lethal weapons to the country, a claim repeatedly rejected by cabinet. .In 2024, she was reprimanded by the Commons Speaker for wearing a Palestinian solidarity pin in the House. A year earlier, then-Conservative MP Jake Stewart labelled McPherson and other New Democrats “Hamas supporters,” remarks that drew sharp controversy.“I know the NDP is not going to like it,” Stewart said at the time. “I said they are Hamas supporters, and they are.”McPherson is not alone among MPs in raising the issue of screening Israelis. Last October, Liberal MP Sameer Zuberi questioned federal officials at the Commons immigration committee about whether former Israeli military members posed a risk to Canadians, asking if current screening measures were sufficient to protect public safety.
