New report challenges widespread Canadian narratives about Israel 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE 

CALGARY —  A new report released today by the Aristotle Foundation for Public Policy examines claims of illegal settlement, territorial expansion, and violence against civilians in Israel and the West Bank and Gaza.

In The Truth About “Creeping Annexation” Rhetoric: Selective outrage abroad, rising antisemitism at home, Aristotle Foundation senior fellow Joseph Quesnel presents data to set the record straight. The report finds that the great majority of violence and illegal activity occurs against Israel by Palestinians. Quesnel argues that the data demonstrates a biased and inconsistent standard used to evaluate Israeli state activity, and the propagation of false claims based on these standards has contributed to violent antisemitism in Canada.

Key Findings

• In 2023, Shin Bet reported 3,436 Palestinian attacks, while the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs documented 1,227 Israeli settler attacks.
• In other words, Palestinian attacks are 2.7 times more numerous.
• Illegal Palestinian settlements are more than twice as prevalent as illegal Israeli settlements.
• In 2017, the Israeli Civil Administration’s Supervision Unit opened 8,001 enforcement files concerning alleged unauthorized construction in Israeli settlements and 16,798 concerning instances of alleged unauthorized Palestinian construction in Area C.

“Public discussion repeatedly depicts Israel as uniquely aggressive, illegitimate, and responsible for conflict; this is simply false,” notes author Joseph Quesnel. “Importantly, it affects government policy here in Canada and, worse, it risks spilling over into hostility toward Israelis, Jewish institutions, and Canadian Jews.”

The full report, The Truth About “Creeping Annexation” Rhetoric: Selective outrage abroad, rising antisemitism at home, is available at aristotlefoundation.org.

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Media Contact

Dami Itabiyi | dami@aristotlefoundation.org | 403-401-3828