Violent Extremism Persists as a Canadian Security Concern

"The individual was a member of the Canadian Army Reserve, serving with an Army Reserve unit in Calgary, Alberta."

"The individual enrolled on 17July 2023, completed Basic Military Qualification on 6 Dec. 2023, and [was] released from the Canadian Armed Forces on 10 July 2024."

Kened Sadkidu, spokesperson, Department of National Defence

 

"The specific nature of the individual's release [or release category] constitutes personal information and is therefore protected in accordance with the Privacy Act." 

Andree-Anne Poulin, Department of National Defence 

 

"He went hoping to save lives, confirmed by so many including our family doctor who talked to Zachareah. He was killed 12 hours after getting to Israel."

"[He was killed by Israelis for] looking too Palestinian."

"I'm honouring my grandfather George Reed, who served in WWII and my great grandfather [also George Reed], who fought in the wars as well. And my son, Zachareah, who dedicated his life to saving lives -- humanitarian work -- and was tragically murdered by a country that perpetuates unimaginable violence and disinformation/gaslighting."

"Perhaps if my son resembled our Irish-French heritage he would have been sent home to Canada. Our home, such a beautiful place." 

Adam Quraishi, father of Zachareah  

"A suspect arrived at the entrance of Netiv HaAsara, exited his vehicle and threatened with a knife members of the community's rapid response team operating in the area."

"The rapid response team responded with fire and neutralized the suspect. No injuries to the security forces were reported."

"The suspect is a foreign national who arrived in the area from within Israeli territory, and not from the Gaza Strip. The suspect is a Canadian national."

Israel Defense Forces report 

Zachariah Adam Quraishi was released as a Canadian Army reservist just days before he flew to Israel and died carrying out a terrorist attack. Photo by Handout

 

A week and a half after being released from the Canadian Armed Forces, 21-year-old Zachariah Quraishi flew to Israel where  he rented a vehicle, obtained a large kitchen knife and set out on his humanitarian mission. He went to a gated village of 900 residents, Netiv Ha'asara, locaed close to the Gaza northern border.

 

There is a video that shows guards firing while Quraishi approached them. The guards had warned the man several times to stand down, but when he ignored the warnings, shouting "Free Palestine!" as he neared them, they shot him dead. This was a scenario all too familiar to Israeli border guards, members of the IDF, and police. Palestinians have a penchant for that performance. Sometimes they succeed in killing their targets, more frequently their mission fails and they die.

 

Adam Quraishi, Zachareah's father who is a school teacher at the Siksika reservation and at the Calgary Islamic School, posted photos of his Canadian war veteran great grandfather in a Canadian Armed Forces uniform. His purpose was to have his son regarded as a war veteran, not someone who  set out on an act of terrorism. Adam Quraishi posted a series of charges that his son was wrongfully targeted by Israelis. 

 

Tellingly, on arrival in Israel, Zachareah Quraishi, embarked on a humanitarian mission as a volunteer failed to coordinate with non-governmental organizations or religious institutions in advance of his trip, as volunteers tend to do. Nor did he follow the usual pattern of tourists -- heading to Tel Aviv, Jaffa or Jerusalem. He chose to head out to a remote community. One, furthermore, that had been a target on October 7, when Palestinian terrorists led by Hamas embarked on a sadistically savage killing spree of Israeli civilians.

 

The moshav of Netif Ha'asara -- a communal agricultural community, or kibbutz -- is located in the Negev desert some 60 kilometres south of Tel Aviv, at the northern border of the Gaza Strip. Some twenty residents of the community were butchered, among the 1,200 Israelis and foreign farm workers that were killed in the 2023 terror attacks.

 

Photographs taken at the scene are of Quraishi arriving in a white rented Hyundai. When he arrived in Israel he identified himself as a tourist. His passport had been issued at Cold Lake, Alberta. The tourist who set out to commit to 'humanitarian work' according to his grieving father, would never see Alberta again, a matter of his personal choice.

 

Israeli security forces at the scene of an attempted stabbing attack at the entrance to Netiv Ha'asara, along the border with the Gaza Strip, July 22, 2024. Credit: Flash90.

 

"The spread of radical Islam and extremist ideologies in Canada has create major cultural challenges for the country, including a plague of antisemitism that has spread, making it unsafe for Jews and Canadians to live their day-to-day lives without the fear of being attacked verbally and physically."

Canadian-Israeli Knesset member Sharren Haskel 

 

"[Violent extremism, motivated by religion or political views], persists as one of Canada's most significant national security concerns."

"Worryingly, nearly one in ten terrorism investigations at CSIS now includes at least one subject of investigation under the age of 18."

Daniel Rogers, director, Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS)