Canada cancels travel authorization of Arieh King with 'no explanation,' he tells 'Post'

Jerusalem Deputy Mayor and Israel Land Fund (ILF) founder Arieh King was prevented from traveling to Canada this week after Canadian authorities canceled his electronic travel authorization (eTA).

King was set to speak at a fundraising event held by the Israel Now group in Toronto on Tuesday, August 25; however, King was notified on August 21 of the cancellation.

Canadian authorities have not yet revealed the reason for the cancellation. When contacted by The Jerusalem Post on Friday, the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) said: "Due to privacy laws, we cannot speak to individual cases."

"All persons seeking to come to Canada must meet the eligibility and admissibility requirements under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. Decisions regarding the granting of travel documents are made independently, on a case-by-case basis, by trained officers."

"An eTA does not guarantee entry to Canada," the ministry added.

King told the Post "nobody told me anything, not why, not until when [the cancellation will be in place], nobody answered any question I had."

King said that Israel's ambassador in Ottawa approached the Canadian government for answers, and they did not provide any explanation.

He attended the Israel Now event remotely.

Cancellation of eTA may have resulted from anti-Israel campaigns

Some have speculated that the last-minute cancellation resulted from intensive campaigning by anti-Israel groups, particularly Canada's Legal Center for Palestine (LCP), Hind Rajab Foundation, and Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME).

On August 24, LCP and HRF jointly filed a criminal complaint with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) War Crimes Section requesting that the RCMP investigate King while he was [supposed to be] in Canada.

CJPME also released a call for action asking the public to write to Minister of Public Safety Anandasangaree and Minister of Immigration Diab to deny King's entry. 6,000 people joined the campaign.

Following the eTA revocation, LCP and HRF took credit.

"We are glad to see the Canadian authorities act on the facts outlined in our submissions," said LCP. "As a facilitator of ethnic cleansing in occupied East Jerusalem, Arieh King's actions are not only illegal under international law, they are illegal under Canadian law."

HRF then posted: "Victory in Canada. LCP and HRF succeeded in revoking the travel authorization of Arieh King."

HRF files US DOJ request to prosecute King

HRF subsequently filed a request for prosecution with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) ahead of King's planned trip to the US. This, however, has yet to succeed, and King spoke to the Post from America.

The IRCC did not respond to the Post's question regarding the influence HRF and LCP had on the revocation.