The Jewish former justice minister and human rights expert is an ardent Israel supporter and Iran critic.
By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News
The Canadian police thwarted an Iranian plan to assassinate a Jewish, former justice minister who is an outspoken critic of the Muslim regime and ardent supporter of Israel, the Globe and Mail reported Monday.
Irwin Cotler, who is an internationally renowned human rights expert, was told last month that the plot against him had been discovered less than two days before the perpetrators intended to carry it out, the Canadian paper said, citing an anonymous source.
The source said that there were two suspects involved.
It is as yet unknown if one or both have been arrested or whether they managed to flee the country in time.
Cotler confirmed the report, telling Radio-Canada on Monday that threats against him have been known for a long time.
He has had 24/7 armed police protection and uses an armored car when he travels ever since Hamas invaded Israel last October 7.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), a Canadian Jewish advocacy organization, thanked the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) in a post on X for foiling the assassination.
“This should be a wake-up call for anyone who doesn’t believe defenders of Israel and human rights are under threat worldwide,” the statement said.
In Parliament on Monday, MP Alexis Brunelle-Duceppe introduced a motion to condemn the death threats against Cotler and acknowledge his work to promote human rights, which was passed unanimously.
“Mr. Cotler, you are not alone,” he said.
Cotler earned Iran’s undying animosity in 2008, when he started working to get the regime’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps declared a terrorist organization. The Canadian government finally followed through only this year.
He also angered the mullahs in 2009, when he joined a group of international jurists attempting to have then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad indicted for incitement to genocide for his rhetoric against Israel.
The 84-year-old jurist is a firm and outspoken defender of Israel, its right to defend itself against terrorism, and its human rights record regarding the ongoing war against Hamas.
In January, he slammed South Africa’s genocide case against Israel at the International Criminal Court, saying that “Israel consistently seeks to minimize harm to civilians [in Gaza] using measures including leaflets, messages and phone calls to urge civilians to evacuate targeted areas, creating humanitarian zones and corridors, and facilitating humanitarian aid.”
His daughter, Michal Cotler-Wunsh, is a former Knesset member and currently serves as the Israeli Foreign Ministry’s special envoy for combating antisemitism and delegitimization.