"Friendship should never be controversial": Israeli ambassador criticizes Nenshi for photo apology

Calgary rabbi said of apology "it's not the Naheed Nenshi I know."

Israel’s Ambassador to Canada, Iddo Moed, criticized Alberta NDP leader Naheed Nenshi on Friday for disrespecting his friendship by publicly apologizing for appearing in a photo with him during Stampede. “Friendship should never be controversial,” Moed said in a phone call with Postmedia. Moed had arrived in Alberta for a technology delegation that featured Israeli companies in cyber security and artificial intelligence.

“So being the leader of the (Alberta) NDP, it was important for us also to reach out to him,” he said. Earlier on Friday, he posted on X, stating, “It’s unacceptable for hate to creep and fester into a space built on hospitality, undermining the respect and empathy that should define it.” His statement follows Nenshi’s apology in a social media post for chatting with Moed last weekend.

Nenshi made his comments after photos of him and Moed were posted on the ambassador’s social media account. View this post on Instagram When asked on Thursday what he and Moed spoke about, Nenshi said, “I should have, I probably said what I always say when I meet folks there, that there are some concerns. But to be honest with you, it was 30 seconds.

I don’t remember the exact transcript of the conversation.” Moed said on Friday that he had approached Nenshi to talk about the delegation, but wouldn’t disclose what Nenshi told him during their brief conversation. “I can’t speak for him,” he said.

“I’ll leave it to him.” Moed shared photographs with several other Canadian politicians, including Premier Danielle Smith and Thomas Mulcair, a member of the King’s Privy Council for Canada and the former leader of the federal NDP from 2012 to 2017. STATEMENT BY AMBASSADOR IDDO MOED: “Friendship should never be controversial.”

At Calgary Stampede with a 6-person tech delegation, I reconnected with Albertan friends old and new, and saw firsthand the growing strength of the Israel–Alberta partnership. But it’s unacceptable... — Israel in Canada (@IsraelinCanada) July 17, 2026 Nenshi referred to the “at least 20,000 children killed” in Gaza and a blockade which its critics have blamed for a famine in the Middle Eastern country.

He also highlighted the recent bombing of Southern Lebanon, adding, “even here at home, we’re seeing increases in anger, hatred, anti-Palestinian racism and anti-Semitism (sic). “I believe and will always believe that we have the ability here to be models for the world on how people of different faiths can live together purposefully and lift one another up to ensure we all live a life of dignity,” he wrote. A few days before the apology, Nenshi was confronted by a Palestinian activist who questioned him about his affiliation with Moed.

“He comes to Stampede, and I’m not supposed to say hello, am I supposed to tell him to eff off at a public event?” he told the activist. When the activist affirmed what was intended as a rhetorical question, Nenshi replied, “Yeah, that’s not how it works.”

Nenshi soon stormed off the area after he realized he was being recorded. The apology drew polarizing reactions, from criticism for his apathetic apology to antisemitism. Executive director of Chabad Lubavitch of Alberta, Senior Rabbi Menachem Matusof, told Postmedia that he was appalled to hear about Nenshi’s statement.

“He obviously has given in to anti-Semites,” he said. Matusof added that his cordial relationship with Nenshi stretches back to when he was mayor. “We’ve been friends.

He has been to the bar mitzvahs of my children and so on,” he said. “I’m shocked because it’s not the Naheed Nenshi I know.” Jewish federations in Calgary and Edmonton wrote in a joint statement late Thursday, condemning having to apologize for speaking with an ambassador.

“The expectation that elected officials must apologize for a photograph in a public diplomatic interaction sets a troubling precedent and risks creating an environment where engagement itself becomes impossible,” they wrote. The two federations couldn’t be reached by phone or email. Meanwhile, some commenters denounced Nenshi for not going far enough.

“For what?” wrote one commenter. “This isn’t an apology, and he doesn’t even call a genocide a genocide. This just made it worse.

So.... I guess, thank you @nenshi for confirming what we already thought. You support (Israel’s) genocide.” While claims of genocide in Gaza have been contested, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry and human rights organizations, including Amnesty International and Israeli-based B’Tselem, have concluded that Israel’s military campaign meets the legal criteria — due to mass killings, systematic destruction of healthcare and civilian infrastructure, deliberate restrictions on humanitarian aid causing mass starvation and statements from Israeli officials indicating genocidal intent.

Other Canadian politicians have also been slammed for meeting with controversial political figures in the past. In 2023, Conservative MPs Leslyn Lewis, Dean Allison, and Colin Carrie faced significant backlash for having lunch with Christine Anderson, a Member of the European Parliament for Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party. Nenshi was also criticized by Conservative MPs, including Shuv Majumdar, who said, “He didn’t just fail a test of leadership.

He failed Albertans.” When asked why he felt the need to apologize for speaking with an ambassador, Nenshi said, “People were hurt by it. That’s the critical thing.

You know, people were hurt by it, and when a politician hurts somebody, they should apologize. And our position on this has been clear, and it’s clear in every room.” Nenshi also confirmed he declined an invitation to an event last weekend called Israel in Canada.

The two federations stated that the implications of the photo go beyond the photo. “It’s about whether elected leaders are prepared to engage respectfully. We reject any narrative that suggests engagement with Israeli officials means otherwise.

Catch up with the day’s headlines, curated by our editors and delivered to your email inbox at lunchtime on every business day. Sign up now for the Calgary Herald Noon News Roundup.