Families of Oct 7 victims suing Trudeau government for resuming funding for UNRWA

On Thursday, Canadian families who lost loved ones in the Oct 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks filed a Federal Court application for judicial review of the Government of Canada’s decision to resume funding for the embattled United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), claiming that the decision was patently unreasonable because it violates Canadian law.

The advocacy group, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), is representing the families against UNRWA, which has been accused of supporting terrorism and having employees who were members of Hamas. Earlier this year, it was alleged that 12 UNRWA staffers were involved in the October 7 massacre against Israel.

It was later revealed that approximately 10 percent of Palestinian staffers in UNRWA had ties to Hamas and Islamist militant groups.

The bombshell revelations led to the US, Canada, and other countries suspending funding to the agency.

The legal challenge is led by members of CIJA’s Legal Task Force, Ottawa-based human rights lawyer Lawrence Greenspon, and co-counsel Jillian Siskind.

The application presents arguments for why UNRWA cannot be the agency to fulfill the responsibility of aid distribution in Gaza and should be disqualified from funding.

CIJA noted that under Canadian Law, funding can only be advanced to organizations that respect Canadian values and international human rights standards.

The organization also stated that given UNRWA’s well-documented links to Hamas, a terrorist organization under Canadian law, by resuming Canadian funding to UNRWA, the government violates its own anti-terrorism legislation.

Lawrence Greenspon, senior partner at Greenspon Granger Hill said in a statement, “The Canadian families who are bravely taking the Government of Canada to court over this decision are doing so because they understand firsthand the consequences of allowing UNRWA to benefit from Canadian support – whether the issue pertains to their staff’s direct participation in the October 7 attacks or their teachers indoctrinating Palestinian children to extremist hate by glorifying terrorism, praising Hamas, and advocating for the killing of Jews.”

He added, “These families have suffered, and are suffering, tremendously from the loss of loved ones killed by Hamas’ terrorism, which has been fueled by funds that were forwarded to UNRWA.”

“UNRWA’s ties to Hamas have long been known and ignored, allowing them to operate with impunity. However, in a post-October-7 world, to deny reality or to continue to remain silent in the face of these facts is complicity. Canada should never have restored funding; to do so was tantamount to giving them permission to continue as a proxy for Hamas.”

The applicants represented by the CIJA are Dikla Mizrachi, mother of Ben Mizrachi; Iris Liniado, daughter of Judih Weinstein Haggai; Jacqui Vital, mother of Adi Vital-Kaploun; and Raquel Ohnona, mother of Alexandre Look.

Richard Marceau, Vice President, External Affairs and General Counsel for the CIJA said, “Canadian money given to UNRWA will only help Hamas continue attacking Jews and other Israelis. With this application now officially submitted, it would be inappropriate for the Government of Canada to continue to transfer Canadian tax dollars to UNRWA until such time as a judicial ruling on the application is made, especially when there are other credible and qualified organizations for this humanitarian aid, such as the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), the World Food Programme, and the United Nations Office for Project Services.”