The Crown has dropped two charges against Montreal-based pro-Palestine author and activist Yves Engler, who had been accused of engaging in harassment and indecent communication against a pro-Israel social media personality.
Four more charges alleging Engler harassed a Montreal police investigator assigned to the case still stand, and a trial is scheduled for November 28.
Engler, who spent five days in jail earlier this year as a result of the charges, told The Maple he is confident the Crown will drop the remaining charges as well.
“It’s a victory for those of us who oppose Canada’s complicity in Israel’s genocide in Gaza,” said Engler, who is currently mounting a leadership campaign for the federal NDP.
The charges stemmed from Engler’s frequent interactions with pro-Israel social media influencer Dahlia Kurtz.
Kurtz regularly posts about Israel and Palestine on X. For example, on February 11, commenting on a video captioned “children of Gaza celebrate after ceasefire,” Kurtz wrote: “Super energetic starving children in Gaza, dancing in their cozy, clean and warm sweaters, whilst clearly freezing to death. The adults choreographing the celebration are their genocided obese parents.”
She has also accused pro-Palestine demonstrators of “calling for another Holocaust” and appeared to endorse a sign calling for “mass deportations now.”
On July 5, 2024, Kurtz quote-tweeted Engler stating: “Hello, [Yves Engler]. I’m advising you in this one message only that you are harassing me. You’re threatening and you’re making me afraid for my safety. You must stop this harassment — and communication with me. Stop now.”
According to Engler, an initial complaint against him was investigated by Montreal police without further action.
However, in December 2024, lawyer Neil Oberman, who ran unsuccessfully as a Conservative Party candidate during the last federal election, sent a letter on Kurtz’s behalf to the Crown, according to Engler and his lawyer.
On February 18, Engler published an article on his website stating that he received a phone call from Montreal police instructing him to visit a downtown police station in order to be charged with harassment and indecent communication against Kurtz.
Engler wrote: “I’ve never met Kurtz. Nor have I messaged or emailed her. Nor have I threatened her. I don’t even follow her on X (Twitter’s algorithm puts her posts in my feed).” Kurtz had not blocked Engler on the platform, according to Engler.
Engler, a father of a two-year-old and a seven-year-old, wrote “it’s beyond absurd to suggest I’m a threat to Kurtz,” but explained he was willing to stop directly interacting with her as a condition to avoid jail.
However, Engler wrote, the police also wanted to add another condition for his release stating that he was not allowed to discuss the case.
“That is a flagrant violation of my freedom of expression, but is presumably designed to protect the police officer, Kurtz and her legal team from embarrassment,” Engler wrote.
“I will refuse to sign this condition and may be detained until a judge decides if this is an acceptable condition.”
The article included a link to a page encouraging Engler’s supporters to email Montreal police calling for the charges to be dropped. More than 4,350 emails have been sent, according to the website.
The following day, Engler revealed that Montreal police would be laying additional charges claiming he harassed the police by writing about the original charges. He said the police were angry about his article and the emails they received from his supporters.
The Montreal police charged Engler with intimidation, harassment, harassing communication and interference against an officer.
They arrested Engler on the morning of February 20. He was to spend the night in jail before appearing in front of a judge.
He was released on bail on February 24, agreeing not to tag Kurtz in future posts online but remaining free to speak about his case and the individuals behind it. He cannot, however, name the Montreal police officer who investigated the complaint against him.
Writing in Mondoweiss before Engler’s release, Toronto-based lawyer Faisal Kutty lambasted the charges against Engler and noted reports of “serious procedural violations” during Engler’s detention, including being denied access to his lawyer.
Kutty argued: “These charges go beyond stifling speech to cross into the realm of oppression and persecution of a dissident. Based on available details, there is no reasonable prospect of conviction, and the charges will most likely be withdrawn or dropped. But the damage is already done.”
Engler told The Maple he is happy to see the first two charges dropped, but said part of him wanted to see Kurtz testify and explain her political views.
At the same time, he said, police across Canada are regularly pursuing pro-Palestine activists while showing little intention of investigating any Canadians who have fought in the Israeli military under Canada’s Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes Act, or institutions that encourage Canadians to enlist in the Israeli military.
“The double standards on this stuff is pretty, pretty stark,” he said.
Given that the four remaining charges are related to public calls for the Crown to drop the first two charges — which has now happened — Engler believes it will be hard for the Crown to sustain what remains of its case against him.
Philpot told The Maple he is optimistic that Engler can be cleared. “Is it not just for the public to write to the public authorities, which in this case is the police, saying this shouldn’t happen?,” said Philpot.
He believes the original two charges were dropped because there was no case.
“They shouldn’t have charged him, and they shouldn’t have imposed those conditions not to write about this on social media,” said Philpot.
He said the charges point to an overriding repression of the Palestine solidarity movement.
“The repression makes people scared, and the answer to that is we have to fight back. We cannot accept intimidation. We have to fight back on every front.”
Engler said he remains undeterred by the ordeal. “I didn’t feel weakened by this process. If anything, I felt emboldened by all this,” he said.
The Maple emailed Montreal police, Kurtz and Oberman for comment on this story.
In a statement, Montreal police said it would not comment on a case that is still undergoing judicial proceedings in order to avoid any influence on it.
