Edmonton Muslim groups demand answers over Israel trip

More than two dozen groups representing Muslims in Edmonton signed an open letter about their disappointment in Edmonton Police Service (EPS) Chief Warren Driechel’s trip to Israel, in February, demanding answers to their questions or his resignation. 

Mousa Qasqas, spokesperson for Canada Palestine Cultural Association, one of the groups that sent a letter to the Edmonton Police Commission, Wednesday, said the group was not satisfied with Driechel’s stated reasons for the trip.

“I think he needs to either defend that position if he’s going to continue going forward and meet with people like our community, the Muslim community, Palestinian community, or resign,” Qasqas said. “Or go back and say, ‘Yeah, you know what? This was a stupid move.’”

Driechel visited police agencies in Israel last month during a trip funded by the Major Cities Chiefs Association, an independent group of police executives from cities across the U.S. and Canada.

“There are populations that are represented by the populations of Israel, whether they’re Jewish or Muslim and I think it’s important as police leaders, when we go to these countries, we understand what’s occurring there and how it’s informing what’s going on in our own cities, in our own country,” Driechel said, defending his trip.

 Qasqas said he wasn’t convinced by that explanation.

“I just, I couldn’t, almost I was incredulous, like I couldn’t believe that,” he said.

The letter sent by 26 mosques and groups representing Muslim Edmontonians asks for further clarity on how the trip was approved, what lessons were learned and how they will be applied. It also demanded to know what steps the commission will take to address a loss of confidence in the Muslim community.

Chair of Edmonton Police Commission, Ben Henderson, said he approved the Driechel’s trip after learning that it would be paid for by the Major Cities Chiefs Association and not the taxpayers.

“I asked (Driechel) if he thought it was going to be valuable to go, and he his feeling was it was going to be valuable,” Henderson explained. “Based on that, I could see no reason to say no.” 

Henderson said the commission continued to have confidence in Driechel’s leadership.

The Jewish Federation of Edmonton, once again, thanked the chief and the commission for taking the trip, Thursday.

In a social media post, the group said, “In the current climate of heightened security concerns for Jewish communities across Canada, we are saddened but not shocked at the libels & accusations that are divisive and seek to normalize anti-Israel sentiment and hate.”

“What I really want people to take away from his having gone is that this is about community safety, and it’s about learning, and it wasn’t about dividing communities or escalating tensions,” said Stacey Leavitt-Wright, CEO, Jewish Federation of Edmonton.

“I think that people should be keeping that in mind and definitely normalizing any anti-Israel sentiment is just a safety risk for us here in Edmonton.”

Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack said he was angry about the serious damage to trust in the community.

“There have been few times I have been more frustrated than this because of the harm it caused so many folks in our community and so that’s going to take a lot of work to rebuild that,” Knack said.

Qasqas also said the trip has undermined trust in the leadership of the Edmonton Police Service at a moment when it was more important than ever.

He said the chief’s justification that the trip will help him better connect with Muslims in Edmonton was offensive.

“If they don’t know why it’s so offensive, then they’re completely tone deaf. Complete, completely tone deaf,” Qasqas said.

“They haven’t interacted with our community or know anything about our community that stands for the Muslim or the Palestinian community, because I’m from both, and I feel like I can speak for the feelings of both.”

CityNews has reached out to the Major Cities Chiefs Association which paid for the chief’s February visit to find out more about the trip but has not received a response.