Image by Facebook

TORONTO — An Israeli activist who supports the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement against Israel has claimed refugee status in Canada.

Gilad Paz, 34, landed at Montreal International Airport on Aug. 11 after traveling from Tel Aviv and requested political asylum. He reportedly told a Canadian asylum officer that he is a BDS and human rights activist.

On Wednesday, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported that Paz claims he was active in Amnesty International Israel and the left-wing Meretz party.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

A self-employed lawyer, Paz fled his native Israel because he has been “politically persecuted” in the Jewish state, he told the Ynet news website.

“I came to a conclusion that people like me have no place in Israel, and that’s why I’ve decided to leave before it’s too late,” Paz said. “I do not believe in the State of Israel. I believe that the Zionist enterprise was a mistake in its essence, and we pay until today a hefty price for it.”

He added: “I support BDS because the State of Israel does not understand a different language.”

Paz said he decided to leave after Israel’s public security minister, Gilad Erdan, and interior minister, Aryeh Deri, formed a government task force recently to prevent the entry of foreign BDS supporters and deport those who have already entered Israel or territories under Israeli control.

Paz said he chose Canada “because they are the most open to applications for political asylum.”

Canada has accepted 857 refugee claimants from Israel since 1999. Many were Jews from the former Soviet Union who claimed they were persecuted in Israel. More recent claims have come from Arab citizens of Israel.

In 2013, Canada’s then-Conservative government added Israel, excluding the West Bank and Gaza Strip, to a list of designated “safe countries” that are “unlikely to produce legitimate asylum claimants.” Last year, Canada approved just seven refugee claims from Israel.

Israel’s consul general in Montreal called Paz’s claim “preposterous.”

“Israel is a country of human rights, democracy and freedom of expression,” Ziv Nevo Kulman told the Canadian Jewish News. “The Canadian authorities know this very well, and we have faith that they will deal with this false claim accordingly.”

Kulman also said: “There is no persecution in Israel whatsoever. That’s ridiculous.”

The Electronic Intifada, an online U.S.-based publication supporting BDS, reported that longstanding BDS activists in Israel said they did not know Paz.

Paz told the Electronic Intifada that his asylum hearing is scheduled for Sept. 29.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount