Liberal MP Housefather's appointment to role fighting antisemitism delayed by concerns about caucus divisions

A proposal to appointLiberal MP Anthony Housefather to a new role fighting antisemitism which has been in the works for weeks has been held upby concerns about divisions in the government caucus over the Israel-Hamaswar, CBC News has learned.

And sources who spoke to CBC News including one caucus member areasking howHousefather's role would differ from the work of Deborah Lyons, the special envoy on preserving Holocaust remembrance and combating antisemitism.

The proposed appointment came after Housefather, a Montreal MP, publicly discussedleaving the Liberal Partyin March. He spent weeks mulling his future with the party after almost the entire caucus helped to pass anNDP motion criticizing Israel's conduct inits conflict with Hamas. He ultimately decided to stay in caucus.

The government has been accused by Jewish groups ofnot being supportiveenough of Israel, though it has seen its supporterode amongboth Jews and Muslims.

Housefather declined to comment when reached by CBC News.A spokesperson for the Prime Minister's Office also declined to comment.

A senior government official who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to comment publicly said an announcement about the appointment won't be made today.

The official said dealing with the rise inantisemitismand violencedirected against Jewish communities across Canada is a priority for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.

The official also acknowledged the governmentneeds to decide how the position would work with caucus andwith Lyons's responsibilities. The official said the government is committed to combating Islamophobia as well.

News of the possible announcement spread internally among Liberal MPs late Thursday.

Shafqat Ali, a Liberal MP for Brampton-Centre, told CBC News in text messages that he believes Housefather is not the right person for the job.

"I think his appointment won't be helpful in addressing antisemitism or Islamophobia because he lacks in judgment and has contributed more in dividing Canadians in the last eight months," he wrote.

"Ben Carr or Julie Dabrusin, or anyone who has a balanced approach, would do a better job," he added, referring to the Liberal MPs from Winnipeg South Centre and TorontoDanforth.

WATCH |Decision to stay in Liberal caucus 'was not an easy one,' says MP Housefather

Decision to stay in Liberal caucus 'was not an easy one,' says MP Housefather

5 months ago

Duration 11:31

'If I leave, where are the pro-Israel voices in the Liberal Party?' MP Anthony Housefather said in an interview with Power & Politics after he announced that he will be staying in caucus despite concerns about his government's response to the Israel-Hamas war.

In a phone interview, Ali said he's not surewhat Housefather would do in the position that wouldn't duplicateLyons's work.

"I don't know if [this job is] in addition to the posts we already have, to strengthen them, to support them, or if there might be no confidence in them," Ali said.

Word of Housefather's potential appointment comes at a time whenJewish advocacy groups such as B'nai Brith Canada are reporting a record spikein antisemitic acts.

It also comes a few days before the Liberals try to holdthe federal riding of Toronto-St-Paul's in a hotly contested byelection. Jewish voters make up roughly 11 per cent of the electorate in the riding, according to Elections Canada data from 2019.

Ali said he doubts there is a connection with the pending vote.

"People will have made up their minds in orderto cast their votes," he said. "I don't know if this will have play in an election."

The unnamed government official also disputed the suggestion thatthe appointmentwas meant to coincidewith the byelection.

In the motion passed in March, the House of Commons called on the federal government to work toward the establishment of a Palestinian state through a negotiated two-state solution, and cease the further transfer of arms to Israel.

Only three Liberal MPs voted against it. One of them was Housefather, who then said publicly he was considering whether he could stay on with the Liberals.

On April 5, he announced he would stay. He also said in a media statement he had"long and important conversations with the prime minister ... over the last couple of days."

"We have discussed policing, safe zones between demonstrations and community briefings, university campuses, antisemitism education, the implementation of the International HolocaustRemembrance Alliance's definition [of antisemitism] and so much more," he said.

In an interview with CBC'sPower & Politics, Housefather saidthose conversations with Trudeau helped him decideto stay with the party.

"He said, 'Come work with me, come work withDeborah Lyons, play a leadership role on this file and we will fix it,'" he told host DavidCochrane.

On Wednesday, the Conservative Party announced that Neil Oberman will be its candidate in the riding of Mount Royal, which Housefather has represented since 2015.

Oberman is a lawyer who recently represented students who filed an injunction request against the pro-Palestinian encampment on McGill University's campus.

The Liberals have held Mount Royal since 1940.