On September 21, The Song Shul will be hosting a talk with Mark Regev at the Meridian Arts Centre. Regev was a former Israeli ambassador to the UK and Senior Advisor for Foreign Affairs for Benjamin Netanyahu.
Just Peace Advocates has submitted a complaint demanding that Regev be barred entry to Canada for his material support of war crimes and incitement of anti-Palestinian racism.
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Regev served as the public face of Israel’s foreign policy from the mid-2000s onward, leading The Guardian to dub him “spin doctor in chief for the Israeli government.”
In 2006, he defended the slaughter of UN workers during Israel’s war on Lebanon.
Regev has long advocated for collective punishment. In 2008, he characterized the 350 Palestinians killed in Operation Cast Lead) as “teach[ing] Hamas a lesson.” He did so again in 2012, when he described the 162 Palestinians killed in Operation Pillar of Defense as the “price to be paid.”
During Operation Pillar of Defense, he justified the targeted assassinations of three Palestinian journalists by arguing “from our point of view, that’s not a legitimate journalist.”
In 2013, Regev gave a BBC interview where he invented fictitious deaths of Israeli soldiers in order to muddy public perception around the IDF’s murder of Rachel Corrie.
In 2014, he obfuscated responsibility around the Bakr family beach bombing (“Let’s be clear: The Israeli military does not target civilians.”) In a notoriously contentious BBC interview during 2014’s Operation Protective Edge, he was challenged on his justification of the bombing of Gaza’s schools.
In 2020, he publicly advocated for the complete annexation of Palestinian land, and the support of illegal settlements.
In 2024, Aboriginal activists based in Australia brought criminal charges against him for his “advocacy of genocide” – including press where he argued in favour of collective punishment and denied Israel’s responsibility for the flour massacre.
When photos circulated of Palestinians kidnapped, blindfolded and stripped to their underwear were circulated in December of 2023, Regev mocked them in an interview in Sky News by saying: “It’s the Middle East, and it’s warmer here.”
As Israel’s ambassador to the UK, Regev was largely tasked with disciplining growing support for Palestine in the Labour Party, playing a heavy hand in manufacturing antisemitism allegations against then-Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.
Al Jazeera’s documentary series The Lobby featured undercover footage of Israeli embassy staff plotting to “take down” the careers of British politicians who have criticized settlements. The reporting caused a scandal around the embassy during Regev’s tenure, forcing him to formally apologize and fire a staffer involved. The Lobby also featured clandestine footage of a private meeting where Regev is provided “intelligence” from an Israeli lobbyist about the pro-Corbyn group Momentum.
One month ago, the Deputy Mayor of Jerusalem Arieh King’s visa was deactivated ahead of him coming to Canada to represent Israel’s Land Fund.
Regev must also be barred entry to Canada. He’s been the source of decades misinformation, and offered consistent, material support for occupation, illegal settlements and genocide.
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