Latest news with #DavideMastracci
Roya News
28-07-2025
- Politics
- Roya News
'I'm afraid to go home': Website exposes Canadians serving in 'Israeli' military
A website, has ignited a heated controversy in Canada by compiling and publishing publicly available information on Canadians who have served in the 'Israeli' military. This project defines 'Canadian' as someone who is a Canadian citizen, and/or has lived in Canada for a significant amount of time, and/or currently lives in Canada. Launched on February 24, 2024, by The Maple, an online publication with a pro-Palestinian and anti-'Israel' stance, the site claims its purpose is to help readers understand the motivations of Canadians joining the 'Israeli' military by aggregating details from public sources . Davide Mastracci, The Maple's opinion editor, has publicly accused 'Israel' of planned genocide in Gaza. However, the initiative has been met with strong accusations of "doxxing" from those listed and their families, who view the compilation as an act of intimidation. Globally, there's a growing trend of legal complaints targeting 'Israeli' soldiers based heavily on open-source material, leading the 'Israeli' military to reportedly no longer allow soldiers to be identified by name. Legal Ambiguity of "Doxxing" A key point of contention is Canada's legal landscape. "Doxxing" itself is not a defined criminal offense in Canada . While the act of publishing private information for harassment is widely condemned, legal experts note that proving intent to harm is an "uphill battle" for potential lawsuits. Mastracci asserts that every profile is "based entirely on public information gathered through simple Google searches from news articles, social media profiles, newsletters, websites, public directories and other sources," with each claim hyperlinked to its original public source. He emphasizes that the information's origin lies with the soldiers themselves, their family members, or media outlets where they "willingly shared their status as a soldier". The project, he suggests, implicitly challenges why such information was made public in the first place. "I'm afraid to go home" "I'm afraid to go home," one Canadian reservist expressed, while another, Nati Hubberman, a dual Canadian-'Israeli' citizen, recounted asking, "Is it safe for me to fly to Canada?" after seeing his name on the site, in statements made to 'The Times of Israel'. Canadians in Foreign Militaries and RCMP Scrutiny Serving in foreign militaries, including the 'Israeli' military, is generally legal for Canadian citizens. The 1937 Foreign Enlistment Act primarily prohibits recruitment within Canada, not service abroad . The RCMP previously closed an investigation into alleged illegal 'Israeli' recruitment in Canada without charges in June 2023 . However, a separate, ongoing RCMP probe into "core international crimes" related to the 'Israeli' aggression on Gaza, launched in early 2024, has added a new layer of anxiety. While not a criminal investigation at this stage, the RCMP is collecting information and has not ruled out future prosecution if a perpetrator with a "nexus to Canada" is identified.
Al Manar
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Al Manar
Website Publishes List of Canadian Israelis who Served in the IOF
The non-profit news website The Maple published a list of 85 Canadians with Israeli citizenship who have served in the Israeli occupation army. The website announced that this is the initial list and that it intends to publish additional lists of additional Canadians that have joined the Israeli military. The article, entitled 'Meet 85 Canadians That Have Fought For Israel,' featured in online publication The Maple provides a link to the list. NEW: I created a database containing profiles of 85 Canadians that have fought in the Israeli military. This is the largest such collection of names and stories in Canada, by — Davide Mastracci (@DavideMastracci) February 24, 2025 According to the article, its purpose is to provide a database of 'mini-profiles for as many Canadians that have fought in the Israeli military at any point as I could find,' said its author, because 'there is little existing research in Canada beyond one-off news articles about who these soldiers are and how they came to make the life choices that they did.' The list has sparked anger by Israeli circles, with Israeli Channel 14 describing the move a 'scandal'. 'I don't think it's an acceptable thing to happen in Canada,' Rebecca Garner, who served in the IDF from 2011 to 2014, and whose name was enrolled in the list, told the National Post, a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper.
