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Toronto city councillors James Pasternak (York Centre) and Mike Colle (Eglinton-Lawrence) travelled to Israel this week to receive a briefing from Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sharren Haskel.
Haskel posted a photo to her Twitter on Tuesday, November 25, posing with a delegation of Canadian politicians and media members.
Alongside Pasternak and Colle, former Toronto MPs Kevin Vuong and Don Stewart, former Toronto-area MPP David Zimmer, as well as former Green Party leader Annamie Paul and former Montreal mayor Denis Coderre. Journalist Steve Paikin and radio personality Ben Mulroney were also recognizable figures in the photo.
The moral position
The photo has sparked confusion amongst Torontonians, with many wondering what purpose a municipal-level politician could serve by visiting a foreign state.
There is also the added layer of Israel's war on Gaza, which has killed at least 70,000 civilians. In October, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney announced that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would be arrested if he set foot on Canadian soil and charged with the war crimes his army is committing in occupied Palestine.
The Canadian Prime Minister also recognized Palestine as an independent state, something Israel is strongly against.
So, how does visiting Israel benefit Torontonians?
The briefing
Haskel's tweet doesn't allude to any particulars, but covers a few talking points peddled by the Israeli government.
“Recognizing a Palestinian state while Hamas still holds hostages only strengthens the terrorists. It sends completely the wrong message.”
She also cited rampant antisemitism in Canada, claiming that “Jews [are] afraid to wear a Star of David in public.”
There has been no evidence of Jewish Canadians being attacked for wearing the Star of David.
A report released by York University found that hate crimes against Muslims in the Toronto area grew by as much as 1,800%, with at least 500 instances of Islamophobic behaviour.
Statista calculated a 71% increase in police reports citing antisemitism, and a 94% increase in police reports citing Islamophobia.
Israel's war in Gaza has created a dangerous atmosphere for both Jews and Muslims in Canada.
Who are Pasternak and Colle
James Pasternak is the councillor for Toronto's York region. He has served on the city council since 2010 and is the Chair of the North York Community Council.
James Pasternak has been working to get pro-Palestinian protests deemed non-Charter protected activities, calling them “mobs”.
Councillor Mike Colle is the representative of Eglinton-Lawrence and the Deputy Mayor of North York. Colle spearheaded the movement to get the month of May designated as Jewish Heritage Month in Ontario.
Mike Colle is also the vice-chair of the North York Nominating Panel for Corporations, meaning he influences the decision on which corporations are awarded government contracts.
The city councillors' role on the Nominating Panel has sparked questions about a potential conflict of interest.
Former politicians
There were four noteworthy former politicians in Israel last week; this is who they are.
Kevin Vuong served as the MP for Spadina—Fort York from 2021 to 2025 as an independent. Vuong was dropped by the Liberal party two days before the 2021 election over his failure to disclose a 2019 charge for sexual assault, but was still elected due to advance polling.
He sponsored only two bills in his four years in Parliament: one to weaken the Criminal Code and Human Rights Act's reaction to hate crimes, and a bill attempting to increase the speed of student loan collection.
Don Stewert only served in the House of Commons for ten months before being voted out by his constituents. He did not sponsor a single bill in his time in Parliament.
David Zimmer served the Liberal Party as an MPP from 2003 to 2018. He was the Minister of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation from 2013 to 2018.
Annamie Paul led the Green Party from 2020 to 2021. She was the first Black Canadian and first Jewish woman to be elected leader of a federal party in Canada.
Her time with the Green Party began to end after her views on Israel and antisemitism differed from those of voting and elected party members.
She has called for a de-escalation of the violence in Israel.
Denis Coderre served as the Mayor of Montreal from 2013 to 2017, while aligned with the Liberal Party in Federal politics. Coderre served as an MP from 1997 to 2013.
Coderre sponsored five bills during his time in Parliament, none of which got past the second reading at the House of Commons.
His most prominent achievement as Mayor of Montreal was his authorization of the dumping of 8 billion litres of untreated sewage into the Saint Lawrence River. The action received more than 50,000 signatures opposing it.
He also imposed a bylaw banning pit bulls in the City of Montreal that was suspended just days later by a judge.
Reports recently released claim Coderre owed more than $130,000 in provincial taxes and more than $266,000 to the Canada Revenue Agency as of February 2025.
Journalist and radio personality
Alongside the Councilmembers and the former politicians, journalist Steve Paikin and radio personality Ben Mulroney were also present.
Steve Paikin is the host of TVOntario's headline politics show, The Agenda. He has been criticized for his biased coverage of Israel's War in Gaza.
Ben Mulroney is the host of the nationally syndicated show, The Ben Mulroney Show, on Global News. Mulroney is the son of former Canadian Prime Minister Brian Mulroney, who was an outspoken opponent of the apartheid system in South Africa. Brian Mulroney was a longtime supporter of Israel.
Ten of the most reputable human rights groups in the world have called Israel's war on Gaza a genocide, and both Doctors Without Borders and the United Nations have said that Israel is targeting civilian aid stations. Sharren Haskel has countered those claims, maintaining that Israel is the most moral army.
“No other army in the world—not the British, not the French, not the Canadians—has reached the standard Israel has in trying to avoid civilian casualties.”
It is estimated that 80% of the victims killed in Palestine were civilians, not members of Hamas. Seventy percent of the victims were women and children.
More than 250 aid workers (UN, DWB, and at least 248 journalists have been killed in Palestine by Israel since October 7, making it the most deadly conflict for peace workers and journalists in human history.
