Lawyers to Drop Pro-Israel Mayor of Montreal Suburb After He Opposed Gaza Immigration

Jeremy Levi, mayor of Hampstead, Quebec. Courtesy of the Town of Hampstead

The legal representatives of Jeremy Levi, the mayor of Montreal’s Hampstead suburb, said they intend to drop him as a client for fear his criticism of a federal immigration plan for Gazans and his strong public support of Israel in its war against Hamas would cost them more clients, including one of the largest teacher unions in the province, according to court documents provided by Mr. Levi.

Mr. Levi, who heads a majority-Jewish municipality, has drawn attacks from the pro-Palestine movement and others over social media comments, in particular a post on X that read: “Given the recent behavior of the pro-Palestinian group, Canada should reconsider its immigration plan for Gazans. Their values seem incompatible with ours, and I have no desire to welcome more hatred into our country.”

That post was one of the triggers that prompted his former legal representatives to drop him, according to a court-registered transcript of a phone conversation between Mr. Levi and the lawyers, obtained by The Epoch Times.

On the call, the legal representatives said they risked losing other clients if they continued to work with Mr. Levi because of his public comments on Palestine amid the Israel-Hamas conflict.

“We received a call from two of our clients ... and they expressed to us how they did not want to continue this case with Hampstead because of the comments that were attributed to Jeremy, and another one of our existing clients ...  one of the largest teacher unions in the province, indicated the same thing,” one of the former representatives said.

“So we obviously had a conversation amongst the partners and this is the decision we arrived at, which is we could not continue this otherwise it would come at great expense to our firm.”

The lawyers, who are technically still representing Mr. Levi, also said they would not return a $50,000 fee for legal work, saying that they had fulfilled their duty in relation to an ongoing case involving a challenge to Quebec language laws, unrelated to the situation in Palestine.

Neil Oberman, of the Spiegel Sohmer law firm, who now represents Mr. Levi, told The Epoch Times in a telephone interview that Mr. Levi has filed a notice of opposition to the legal representatives’ notice of withdrawal from Mr. Levi’s service.

He said Mr. Levi’s objection is based on five points, including that it leaves him “exposed to find a new attorney at a late stage in the current proceedings” and that “the reasons provided for in the Notice are predicated on unlawful grounds.”

The objection also states that the representatives’ withdrawal violates certain sections of the Charter of Human Rights and Freedoms, the Code of Professional Conduct as well as the engagement letter between Mr. Levi and the lawyers.

After the lawyers said they intended to withdraw, Mr. Levi said publicly that he will continue to voice support for Israel despite the opposition.

“I have asserted my constitutionally protected freedom of expression and will continue to do so with unyielding determination,” Mr. Levi said in a post on X after he was told his legal representatives were dropping him. “The attempt by legal representatives to sever our ties is met with defiance, as we refuse to be intimidated. Let it be known: we stand firm, resolute, and encourage all to embrace the same resolve. Never shall we retreat.”

Hampstead also made headlines in November of last year after the town adopted a bylaw stipulating a $1,000 fine for anybody who removed posters on public property of Israeli hostages taken in the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.