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Lascaris also claims the ICC leadership’s opponents include “individuals who collaborate with B’nai Brith” as well. Said Kahnemuyipour, an associate professor at the University of Toronto Mississauga: “We don’t even know what this means.”
Lascaris, whose political career is pockmarked by strident anti-Israel eruptions of various kinds, is currently suing B’nai Brith over what he calls an unfounded and libellous allegation regarding Palestinian terrorism. B’nai Brith is a hard-headed Jewish community service organization that mobilizes fiercely around the pathology of anti-semitism in Canada.
And that’s how this latest venture into Iranian-Canadian politics is not an odd twist in Lascaris’ political career, after all. Khomeinist Iran is Israel’s sworn enemy. The ICC is widely known among Iranian Canadians for adopting policies that are “hamsuyan,” a Persian term meaning aligned with, or at least simpatico with, the Khomeinist regime. A substantial body of opinion in the community wants the ICC leadership dislodged.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict is what might be charitably described as a theme of Lascaris’ activist preoccupations, and his eruptions have been interpreted as anti-semitic on more than one occasion.
Two years ago, Lascaris was roundly condemned by Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Conservative leader Andrew Scheer and New Democratic Party leader Jagmeet Singh for accusing Liberal MPs Anthony Housefather and Michael Levitt or harbouring a loyalty to Israel that superseded their Canadian allegiance. Two years before that, Lascaris organized a motion adopted by the Green Party membership in support of a “boycott, divestment and sanctions” strategy against Israel. The resolution was later overturned, but not before Green leader Elizabeth May said the uproar was enough to make her consider leaving the party.
