Edmontonians from a range of backgrounds condemned their police chief’s recent trip to Israel during an emotional police commission meeting Thursday, with only a small number of speakers voicing their support.

While Warren Driechel issued a statement earlier this week about the visit, Thursday marked the first time he has spoken publicly since news about his February trip sparked outrage from a range of Edmontonians, including Muslim and non-Muslim groups.  

Last week, mosques, Palestinian groups and others signed an open letter to the Edmonton police commission denouncing the trip amid Israel’s ongoing attacks on Gaza.

At least two dozen speakers took the podium on Thursday, with most using their five minutes to try to explain to police and commissioners why the trip had increased their distrust in the Edmonton Police Service, and why they don’t feel safe.

They raised concerns and had questions about what kind of policing tactics are used in Israel and how they might be employed here.

A few of the speakers even called for Driechel and commission chair Ben Henderson to resign. Henderson approved the trip. 

Both Driechel and Henderson said they did not foresee a problem in the lead-up to the trip.

Outside the meeting, Driechel stood firm, echoing the written statement he had previously issued: he won’t apologize, and he won’t resign.

“What can I be sorry for?” Driechel asked reporters.

“I think the path forward is to sit down with trusted leaders, with individuals within that community and talk about this and then understand what we can do together.”

Driechel said it has been “a challenging couple of weeks” and acknowledged “there’s a feeling of a lack of trust.” However, he said learning from community leaders in Israel about what “they’re doing with the police to try to solve some of their problems” was a valuable experience.

Among the speakers who defended Driechel’s trip was Stacey Leavitt-Wright, CEO of the Jewish Federation of Edmonton.

She argued international exchanges are standard practice and warned against what she described as politically motivated criticism.

Leavitt-Wright said there was no evidence the trip had caused concrete harm in Edmonton and characterized the backlash as a “pressure campaign dressed in the language of accountability.” 

Mousa Qasqas, a spokesperson for the Canada Palestine Cultural Association, raised questions about policing practices in Israel and raised concerns about a lack of transparency regarding what Dreichel learned on the trip.

He noted he has long collaborated with police as a rally organizer in Edmonton.

“This has completely destroyed that trust — and I don’t see a way back from this,” Qasqas said, adding that he believes the only way back might be for both Driechel and Henderson to resign.

The trip, organized and paid for by the Major Cities Chiefs Association, was framed by Driechel as a professional development opportunity to exchange policing practices.

But it has drawn criticism due to its timing during ongoing violence in Gaza that killed at least 75,000 Palestinians through the first 15 months of the conflict, mostly women and children, according to research published last month by The Lancet Global Health medical journal.

Israel’s war in Gaza began in October 2023, after an attack by Hamas militants killed more than 1,200 people, according to Israeli officials.

Henderson reiterated that the commission is committed to reviewing its policy on international travel for police.

“I regret if this has created division and fear and worry in our community,” he said. “That’s not what anybody wanted to see happen. That’s not what we want to see happening going forward in the future. So, the major objective now, … if bridges are being broken, [is] to rebuild those bridges.”

Henderson said while he doesn’t  think things have reached a certain point,  “if we feel that’s useful, I’m prepared to (resign).”

Speaker Nora Yaghi said her concerns relate to  ensuring that her sons are safe. 

“My oldest son is not yet 15 years old and he already measures over six feet tall,” she said. “He has a beard and he has noticeably brown skin. 

“I have to talk to him on a regular basis about how to behave in interactions with the police because I want my child to come home safely.”

Judith Garber, a member of Independent Jewish Voices Edmonton, said she vehemently opposed Driechel’s trip to Israel, questioning what lessons could be learned amid the war in Gaza and whether any Palestinians were consulted.

She added that, as a Jew aware of antisemitism, her concern is about normalizing discriminatory policing against marginalized Edmontonians, not the trip’s destination.

“The chief didn’t say that the agenda included speaking with any Palestinians,” Garber said. “I’d be interested to know if it did.”