A New Democratic Party leadership hopeful is accusing what he calls an “incredibly active” Israel lobby of intimidating politicians and silencing criticism, warning that careers can be destroyed for speaking out.Blacklock's Reporter says Avi Lewis made the remarks during a leadership debate hosted by Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, an activist group sharply critical of Israel. Lewis said fear of professional and political retaliation prevents open discussion of Israeli policy in Canada.“You cannot criticize Israel or your life will be ruined,” Lewis told the audience. “You could lose your job. You could be accused of being an antisemite and a terrorist. The National Post will go to town. All these reinforcing mechanisms enforce this ideological story.”The debate moderator, Yara Shoufani, who serves as president of the host organization, posed a series of questions focused exclusively on Israel and the Palestinian cause. Asked whether Canada should condition support for a Palestinian state on the exclusion of Hamas, Lewis rejected the idea outright..“On principle, no conditions on self-determination, none,” he said. “Canada shouldn’t be placing conditions.”Lewis also argued that Canada’s long-standing support for Israel stems from what he described as an elite political consensus driven by fear.“A lot of them revert to it out of fear of being called an antisemite by the Israel lobby which is incredibly active and effective in Canada,” Lewis said. “We have to expose the actions of the Israel lobby.”During the 2025 federal election, Lewis ran for the New Democrats in Vancouver Centre with the backing of the activist group Vote Palestine. He finished third, losing by 23,048 votes to longtime Liberal MP Hedy Fry.Lewis described himself during the debate as an “anti-Zionist Jewish person.” He is the grandson of David Lewis, a former NDP leader who was the first Jewish head of a national political party in Canada and a vocal supporter of Israel and its military..Lewis accused Israel of acting “with impunity” on the world stage, alleging repeated military actions against multiple countries and describing the situation as a genocide and an apartheid system.“We have a genocide that has not stopped, and it must be stopped,” Lewis said. “Then we have an apartheid system in Israel that has to be dismantled before Israel can really be considered anything other than a pariah state. Then we have a Palestinian state, Palestinian liberation and freedom, that needs to be recognized.”
