Bochra Manaï, an urbanization and migration researcher who served as Montreal’s first commissioner for the fight against racism and systemic discrimination, is accusing the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs in Canada of defamation. She has filed a lawsuit seeking $125,000 Canadian dollars, including 100,000 dollars in moral damages for harm to her reputation and an additional 25,000 dollars in punitive damages.
Manaï claims the center, which represents the interests of Canada’s Jewish community, waged a smear campaign against her that included material comparing her to Adolf Hitler, Radio-Canada, Canada’s French-language public broadcaster, reported. The organization also amplified claims that she had failed in her various roles, including in addressing discrimination and racism.
Members of Montreal’s Jewish community
(Photo: Catherine Zibo/Shutterstock)
Court documents indicate support for Manaï’s argument that the comparison caused serious harm. Judges wrote that it “equates the plaintiff with a figure who committed genocide against Jews and a leading figure of antisemitism, which constitutes an extreme attack on her honor and dignity.”
Following the deadly Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023, officials at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs called on Valérie Plante, who served as mayor of Montreal from 2017 to 2025, to replace Manaï.
“Tested in crisis, Manaï failed and has now lost the confidence of Montrealers,” the center said in a December 2023 news release.
Pro-Palestinian protesters in Canada
(Photo: nadtochiy/Shutterstock)
Members of the organization also accused Manaï of silence and inaction in response to firebomb attacks on Jewish institutions in Montreal and live gunfire directed at Jewish schools.
Manaï had previously drawn headlines in 2019 for her involvement in a legal challenge to Quebec’s secularism law, known as Bill 21. The law prohibits public-sector employees in positions of authority, including teachers, police officers, judges and senior medical personnel, from wearing religious symbols such as a kippah, hijab, prominent cross or turban while at work.
In November 2023, Manaï took part in demonstrations calling for a comprehensive ceasefire. She said she believed violence and acts motivated by Islamophobia and antisemitism were unacceptable and should be condemned. In that context, Manaï argues that the campaign against her reinforces stereotypes linking Muslims with antisemitism and extremism.
Valérie Plante, mayor of Montreal from 2017 to 2025 Photo: Charles Rex Arbogast/APManaï has reserved the right to increase the amount of damages she is seeking if officials at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs continue to denounce or disparage her. She is represented by civil rights lawyer Julius Grey.
Because the legal proceedings are ongoing, officials at the center declined to respond to Manaï’s allegations.
In recent years, particularly since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war, the Jewish community in Canada’s second-largest city has faced a wave of serious incidents, including street harassment, vandalism, threats against Jewish-owned businesses, attempted arson attacks on religious institutions and physical assaults. The legal dispute has added to concerns within the community.