Canada briefly detains Israeli comedian after complaints over conduct in Gaza

An Israeli comedian and former combat soldier was detained and interrogated for six hours while traveling to Canada on Monday after a pro-Palestinian legal group filed a complaint against him accusing him of war crimes and “incitement to genocide”.The comedian, Guy Hochman, was detained upon arrival at Toronto Pearson International Airport and only released after the intervention of the Israeli consulate, according to the Israel" class="entity-link entity-organization" data-entity-id="15405" data-entity-type="organization">Times of Israel. His detention came after the Hind Rajab Foundation, a Belgium-based group that aims to hold Israeli military personnel accountable for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza, filed a 40-page dossier about him with Canadian authorities. The groups Canadian Lawyers for International Human Rights and the Legal Centre for Palestine also joined the complaint.Hochman’s performance went on as scheduled following his release. On Tuesday, the Hind Rajab Foundation also filed a complaint urging US authorities to investigate and prosecute Hochman, who is scheduled to perform in New York City on Tuesday evening.The group argued that the scheduled performance “poses an imminent risk of further criminal conduct” and noted that in addition to international law, Hochman’s conduct might violate US federal criminal statutes, including the War Crimes Act and genocide statute.The group’s dossier, which includes several photos and videos Hochman himself posted on social media, details evidence of his presence and participation in September 2024 in the destruction of the Raed al-Attar Mosque in Rafah – which the group notes was a religious structure protected under international law. It also accuses Hochman of “clear, repeated, and public incitement to genocide” against Palestinians in Gaza, in statements made both during his time working along with the Israeli military and during performances and online broadcasts.According to the group, Hochman called for the “mass killing and extermination” of Palestinians, advocated for the use of nuclear weapons against Gaza, celebrated civilian deaths, and called for the starvation, displacement and collective punishment of Palestinians, among other statements. He also called for the destruction of religious sites, including stating that “not a single mosque will remain in Gaza”.Hochman did not immediately respond to a request for comment but he confirmed the detention in a social media post. “They tried to stop me from entering Canada, but after 6 hours of delay, I got in,” he wrote. “They tried to prevent me from performing in front of the Israeli community, I performed.“And while they kept shouting ‘free Palestine’ to themselves in minus 10 degrees, we warmed up with laughter–400 Israelis inside. That’s what victory feels like.”Dyab Abou Jahjah, the Hind Rajab Foundation’s general director, said that the group “does not chase comedians”.“What we are dealing with here is not comedy. It is genocidal propaganda and incitement to violence,” he added. “Moreover, Guy Hochman is not only an inciter; he is also a perpetrator of war crimes who filmed himself while committing them.”A former combat soldier, Hochman began producing and disseminating videos with soldiers following the 7 October 2023 Hamas attacks and was later recruited and deployed to Gaza as an “entertainer” linked to the IDF spokesperson unit, according to the Hind Rajab Foundation’s dossier. The Israeli military did not answer questions about the allegations in the dossier or its relationship with Hochman but said “this is not an IDF matter”.“Every country in the world has an affirmative legal duty to seek out and punish all war criminals and genocidaires within their borders, and the United States is no exception,” Jake Romm, HRF’s representative in the United States, said of the Tuesday filing against Hochman in New York. “The US now has a choice: apply its own laws in compliance with its international legal obligations, or further erode the rule of law and allow its soil to be used for the gravest of crimes.”Neither Canadian officials nor the US justice department immediately responded to a request for comment.Israeli soldiers have posted scores of photos and videos of themselves in Gaza, a practice the military has attempted to rein in as criminal efforts against them have mounted overseas.