Is B'nai Brith Canada still in bed with the Jewish Defence League?
JDL-sympathizer and former BBC employee, Ryan Bellerose (left) Michael Mostyn (right) flank convicted pogromist and extremist Israeli settler, David Ha’ivri (centre) in Washington, D.C. Photo from 2017.
Written by: Stephen Ellis
B’nai Brith Canada recently grabbed headlines by announcing it has sued local rabbi and activist, David Mivasair, to stop him from “defaming” their organization. Mivasair’s crime was to state publicly what people in the Palestine solidarity movement have known for decades now - that BBC is an anti-Muslim/anti-Palestinian hate group.
Yet with all the BBC phoney handwringing about Mivasair, and earlier, MPP Sarah Jama and her supposedly “extreme” and “radical” views on Israel and the police, you would think the old adage about stones and glass houses might occupy some space in their collective minds.
Jewish Tribune advertisement for the Jewish Defence League (JDL) of November 5, 2009.
BBC has its own explaining to do. In a recent article, this writer considered BBC’s collaboration with the fascist Jewish Defence League (JDL) for the period 2006-2015 in the pages of the Jewish Tribune. No explanation has ever been provided as to why this self-proclaimed “human rights organization” would provide a platform for this notorious gang of racist stormtroopers.
In 2015, Michael Mostyn took over as CEO and BBC appeared to distance itself from its ultraviolent cousins, providing no more space in its publication to promote JDL politics or even advertise their meetings. For a while, it looked as though the BBC/JDL divorce was final.
Then, a peculiar photo began to circulate. In March 2017, Mostyn posed for a picture alongside notorious Israeli settler David Ha’ivri. Ha’ivri, whose birth name is Jason David Axelrod, is a leader in the violent Temple Mount Movement. He was also a leader of the extremist “Kach” party in Israel, and later “Kahane Chai”. In 1990, Ha’ivri was one of three arrested (and later released) for the revenge killing of elderly Palestinians, Ali el Hatib and Miriam Sakman Rashid. He was later arrested for celebrating the 1995 assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.
Among some of the more notable acts of violence, Ha'ivri was jailed for participating in a pogrom against Palestinians in the village of Luban e-Sharqiya. He accompanied a group of minors as they tore through the village, vandalizing homes and houses of worship. Ha’ivri has since attempted to launder his image by promoting himself as an Israeli tour guide. To this day, Ha’ivri remains a loyal disciple of terrorist Meir Kahane, the original founder of the JDL.
Motsyn appears to be Facebook friends with Ha’ivri. Ha’ivri in his post which includes the picture, refers to his “good friends from B’nai Brith Canada…”
On May 1, 2019, Mostyn shared the stage with the JDL at Toronto City Hall when they, and others, made a desperate bid to shut down the most visible expression of Palestine solidarity in the country, the annual Al-Quds Day March. While supporters of the annual event objected strenuously to the ironic spectacle of the JDL making a presentation on “hate rallies” at City Hall, BBC expressed no objections to a fascist organization making submissions on the issue. In a picture taken during a post-hearing huddle, Mostyn can be seen with Weinstein engrossed in conversation.
The JDL’s Meir Weinstein (left) with Toronto City Councillor James Pasternak (centre left). B’nai Brith’s Michael Mostyn (centre right), and CIJA’s Noah Shack (right) at Toronto City Hall on May 1, 2019.
Then, the JDL collapsed in July 2021 in the face of an unprecedented surge of support for the Palestinian cause that summer. On his weekly webcast, JDL head, Meir Weinstein, announced he was forming a new organization, Israel Now, “to investigate and document hate crimes and activities that undermine Canada’s national security”. This JDL 2.0 nevertheless retained its radically anti-Palestinian politics, and regularly hosted such far-right characters as Baruch Ben-Yosef, Meir Jolovitz and Baruch Marzel. While Weinstein traded in his baseball bat for a microphone, there is no question that Israel Now is simply the JDL by another name.
A glance at Mostyn’s Facebook page shows that on January 6, 2022, October 9, 2022, and again on June 22, 2023, he permitted posts promoting Israel Now to be posted on his account.
Significant signs exist indicating a potential reconstitution of the old BBC/JDL relationship. At minimum, there is friendliness abound between BBC CEO Mostyn, Weinstein and and a prominent Kahanist, which BBC has avoided publicizing.
The Canada Files reached out to BBC to ask if Mostyn had any regrets about posing with an open Israeli fascist or about letting Israel Now post on his Facebook account. BBC did not reply to any of our inquiries. As of publication, Mostyn has not untagged himself from the aforementioned posts.
We also reached out to Israel Now to inquire as to the relationship with BBC. Israel Now has not gotten back to us.
The Canada Files will pursue this story further.
Editor’s note: The Canada Files is the country's only news outlet focused on Canadian foreign policy. We've provided critical investigations & hard-hitting analysis on Canadian foreign policy since 2019, and need your support.
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Stephen Ellis is a Toronto lawyer with the Legal Centre for Palestine.
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