News of police chief Warren Driechel’s trip to Israel last month has garnered mixed reactions from Muslim and Jewish communities about its value to Edmontonians. Earlier this week, the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) confirmed Driechel’s participation was part of a larger delegation of North American police and was entirely sponsored by the Major Cities Chiefs Association, which does not use taxpayer money. The trip was an “opportunity to gain insights into local policing in a highly complex environment, including critical incident response, threat preparedness and community engagement,” the service said. A letter on behalf of Muslim communities in the city from Wednesday evening raised questions about what the EPS could learn from Israel in this political climate. “At a time when countless families in Edmonton are grieving the devastating violence unfolding in Gaza and the region more broadly, the decision by the Chief of Police to travel to Israel to meet with policing institutions demonstrates a serious failure of judgement toward the communities he is sworn to serve and protect,” the statement reads. Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi echoed similar concerns at the legislature on Wednesday. “I’m interested in what exactly he wanted to learn. I have a lot of respect for police in this province, for the work they do … But I really want them to focus on the issues here at home,” he told reporters about Driechel’s trip. “The police chief rightly should answer questions about, why Israel? Why now? Why does he think this timing makes sense? And what exactly does the Israeli police service do better than we do at home that he wanted to learn from?” Edmonton Police Commission chair Ben Henderson told CTV News Edmonton the trip was approved based on the value of information Driechel may be able to apply to policing in the city. He continued to say Driechel was not associating with the Israeli government or the army. Last week, Israel launched broad-scale strikes on Iran’s capital city, Tehran. The Iran-U.S. war broke out after Driechel’s trip. Read more: Gaza’s ceasefire had some momentum. Now, some fear a new war will distract the world “This was about connecting to police services that are dealing with some of the same challenges that we are that may be able to help us understand, not just what’s happening right now in Israel, but what happened two or three years ago in Israel,” Henderson said. On Thursday, the Jewish Federation of Edmonton thanked the police commission for approving the trip and Driechel for “availing himself of the opportunity.” “In the current climate of heightened security concerns for Jewish communities across Canada, we are saddened but not shocked at the libels and accusations that are divisive and seek to normalize anti-Israel sentiment and hate,” a statement reads. The group referenced recent synagogue shootings and hate-motivated incidents across Canada, of which an uptick has been reported. “Responsible communication is essential for public safety. We remain committed to working with partners at all levels to protect the security and well-being of Israeli Jewish Edmontonians.” Calls for resignation Mousa Qasqas, the spokesperson for the Canada Palestine Cultural Association based in Edmonton, said Israel’s involvement in Gaza should have been reason enough to not take the trip before the war in Iran. “You’d have to be living under a rock to think this wouldn’t be highly offensive and controversial, not just to the Palestinian and Muslim communities, but any activist community in our city,” he told CTV News Edmonton on Thursday. In the last two years, Israel’s government has been condemned by Palestinians, supporters and international human rights groups, as well as at least two Israeli rights groups, for committing genocide in Gaza. Data compiled by human rights watch group Abraham Initiatives suggests cases of homicide among Palestinian citizens of Israel more than doubled in 2023, the same full year in which Itamar Ben Gvir became the minister of national security. The joint letter to EPS, which Qasqas did not pen himself, therefore called for Driechel’s immediate resignation. Qasqas says the condemnation only made sense to his community as he feels most protestors and supporters no longer trust EPS. “For Edmontonians, especially people who are running away from that stuff in Gaza, it’s so scary to them to think … they’re going to bring this to our streets in Edmonton,” he said. Both EPS and Henderson told CTV News Edmonton that Driechel did not procure any contracts, equipment or training during his trip. “I trusted him to take out of it what was of use to us and have good judgement about the stuff that might not be. There’s no point in going to places that are telling us what we already know,” Henderson added. EPS noted that similar excursions are a semi-regular occurrence among senior law enforcement officials in North America. CTV News Edmonton requested an interview with Driechel but were told he was not available for comment this week. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson and The Associated Press
