Canadian commissioner resigns after Israel comments probe

Canada's new human rights commissioner resigned Monday -- before ever starting the job -- after concerns were raised by Jewish advocacy organizations over his past comments on Israel.

Scholar Birju Dattani was appointed to the role in June, and was set to being working last Thursday, but announced that day he would take a leave of absence while Justice Minister Arif Virani considered the results of an independent investigation.

On Monday, he said in an online post that he has "agreed to resign as Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, effective today."

"I remain a steadfast believer in the Commission's work, mandate, and its importance to our democracy," he added.

The probe's findings, detailed in a report released on Monday, found that Dattani had omitted the name Mujahid Dattani in his background check forms, which he'd used in online activities and speaking engagements on the Middle East.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs pointed to a post under that name that compared Israel to Nazi Germany. Dattani told public broadcaster CBC it had been intended to generate a conversation.

The report found there was no evidence that Dattani, who was raised Hindu but converted to Islam, is anti-Semitic.

"We cannot find that Mr. Dattani harboured or harbours any beliefs that would be characterized as anti-Semitic or that he has demonstrated any biases (conscious or unconscious) towards Jews or Israelis," it said.

However, the report concluded that Dattani should have been more forthcoming in the job application, and said he "deliberately de-emphasized the manner in which his academic work was critical of the State of Israel in respect of its treatment of Palestinians" in interviews and materials submitted to investigators.

Canadian PM urges citizens to leave Lebanon over risk of conflict

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Monday urged Canadians to leave Lebanon, warning of the risk of escalating regional conflict between Israel and others, including Lebanon-based armed group Hezbollah.

"We see that the risk of escalation is real," he said at a press conference. "We're encouraging and asking all Canadians to please leave Lebanon while there are commercial routes available."

Tens of thousands of Canadians are believed to be living in the country, which has already seen Hezbollah trade near-daily fire with Israel in support of its ally Hamas, the Palestinian armed group.

An Israeli strike on the Lebanese capital Beirut's southern suburbs late last month killed Hezbollah's top military commander, Fuad Shukr, just hours before the assassination, blamed on Israel, of Hamas's political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran.

On Monday, the US government warned that Iran could launch a "significant attack" on Israel this week, in retaliation against the assassination in Tehran.

Canada issued an advisory in late June against travel to Lebanon, citing a "volatile and unpredictable" situation with the possibility of violence between Hezbollah and Israel flaring up without warning.

Its military is setting up emergency resources in Cyprus to evacuate its nationals from the region if commercial flights from Lebanon are halted.