PEN Canada is a registered Canadian charity which promises supporters that it “fights censorship and defends the right to freedom of expression,” and counts among its patrons RBC, Penguin Random House Canada, The Walrus magazine, and the taxpayer-funded Canada Council for the Arts. In 2024, PEN recorded $30,744.00 in revenue from government funding.

Despite its laudable mandate, PEN Canada recently came to the defence of one of Canada’s most well-known agitators, Montreal-area anti-Israel activist Yves Engler, who, in a rare case of such an action by Montreal police, was arrested on the charges of harassing a local Jewish social media influencer, and of obstruction of justice.

In a February 25 letter addressed to Montreal’s mayor and police chief, signed by Executive Director Brendan de Caires, the group condemned the arrest, calling Engler an “author and journalist,” alleging that he was detained “for his pro-Palestinian writing,” adding that the arrest is a threat to “fundamental rights to freedom of expression.”

While PEN Canada noted that Engler is an “outspoken critic of Israel,” this is a blatant misrepresentation, both of Engler’s sordid history, and of the charges he faces.

Engler is no mere “critic of Israel.” He has long expressed explicitly anti-Jewish views. He has written that “Zionist Jews steal incessantly. It’s baked into the European colonialist movement’s DNA,” that “Jews have added responsibility (to speak out against Israel) as they have privileges on subject & the crimes are committed in their name,” has claimed that “wealthy Jews (are) leveraging their financial might to support genocide,” and much more.

As reported in The Montreal Gazette, even after being warned to cease his activity against the influencer, he continued to refer to the complainant as a “genocide supporter” and a “fascist.” That PEN Canada failed to note, not just Engler’s aggressive anti-Jewish social media activity, but the nature of how he allegedly harassed a local Jewish influencer, is an irresponsible omission.

The PEN Canada letter noted that “it is not clear to us whether Mr. Engler has been charged or what charges he is facing,” but decided the group nevertheless to pen a missive defending Engler and claiming that he was arrested “for his pro-Palestinian writing,” even while acknowledging that they were ignorant of the facts.

For an organization – and a registered Canadian charity and recipient of taxpayer funds, no less – to thoughtlessly defend someone, misrepresenting the facts while openly admitting they do not know the facts – should be a source of profound embarrassment.

Outside of social media, Engler has frequently harassed those he disagrees with, with one notable video of him aggressively following Jewish Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman, going so far as to trail her to a restroom.

PEN Canada’s whitewashing of Engler’s antics puts it in the company of extremist anti-Israel outlets like The Electronic Intifada and Press TV, the official mouthpiece of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which characterized Engler as being an innocent victim of an effort by “Zionist lobbyists to intimidate people like him.”

Canada’s Charter of Freedoms gives PEN Canada the right to misrepresent Yves Engler’s history of anti-Jewish rhetoric, and the nature of the accusations of harassment leveled against him. However, it would likely come as a surprise to most Canadian taxpayers that they are helping fund an organization which is using the cause of free expression to advocate for extremist anti-Jewish rhetoric.