It didn’t use to be notable for a Jewish activist against Nazi genocide to raise their voice. However, unfortunately, it was quite refreshing today when Efraim Zuroff, the director of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Israel actually called out Canada’s government for training neo-Nazi fighters in Ukraine. He dared to assert that Ottawa has a responsibility to prevent such things from happening. Zuroff told the Ottawa Citizen: “The Canadian government has not paid due attention.” Almost every Jewish organization warned about and condemned Ukraine’s neo-Nazi formations—until falling silent recently. Zuroff in this context is to be commended for his courage and honesty.
The Canadian military, not untypically, has adopted the “reckless disregard” theory, that they have no obligation to screen participants in their training program. In 2020, Radio Canada reported that Canadian troops trained members of the Azov Brigade. “This is far from Russian propaganda,” Zuroff told the Ottawa Citizen. “These people are neo-Nazis. There is an element of the ultra-right in Ukraine, and it is absurd to ignore it.” Canada has spent $794 million to train Ukrainian troops since the 2014 coup. It is no secret that at the front of the line have been the Azov, Aidar and Right Sector groups—all worshippers of Hitler’s Ukrainian colleague, Stepan Bandera.
