A lawyer for the married couple told National Post they were disappointed by the outcome but they are reviewing it with counsel as they decide on future steps.<\/p>\n
\u201cDr. Eviatar and Dr. Hoult do not believe that their family membership was terminated because of a \u2018threat\u2019 but because of their political views regarding Israel\u2019s actions in the war in Gaza,\u201d their lawyer Murray Trachtenberg said.<\/p>\n
Following the October 7 massacre, when 1,200 people were murdered by Hamas terrorists in Israel, Eviatar co-founded the Manitoba chapter of a group that was critical of Israel\u2019s actions. The group is part of a larger organization of \u201cIsraelis and Palestinians opposed to the war in Gaza and Israeli military operations,\u201d according to the courts\u2019 description.<\/p>\n
Eviatar also appeared on a CBC radio show<\/a> in October 2024. She talked about the organization and said the point was to have \u201chard conversations.\u201d She also said that the group did not use the word \u201cgenocide\u201d to describe what\u2019s happening in Gaza, \u201cbut it\u2019s a strategic choice and it\u2019s not because they don\u2019t think that\u2019s what\u2019s happening.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\tEditor\u2019s Picks\t<\/p>\n After that appearance, Eviatar said the synagogue\u2019s rabbi called her to say she was no longer allowed to lead a specific service \u2014 a role she had maintained for 20 years. A month later, she said the synagogue accused her of \u201caligning herself with a movement which is mutually exclusive of and contrary to the interests of Jewish people and the state of Israel,\u201d according to the court document.<\/p>\n The conflict between the couple and the synagogue worsened when Hoult was critical of measures being taken to improve security.<\/p>\n In March 2025, the synagogue implemented safety measures, after an assessment by Winnipeg police, that included locked and monitored entrances, a pre-registration requirement for Saturday morning services, and the use of security personnel.<\/p>\n In a letter to the synagogue\u2019s president a few months later, Hoult wrote that \u201chysteria and paranoia\u201d led to the synagogue \u201cgiving Hamas a victory by caving to fear.\u201d He also said the measures were \u201cpsychologically stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n The synagogue\u2019s position is that the letter was threatening and \u201cneeded to be taken seriously, particularly as it came within weeks of Dr. Hoult\u2019s frustrated attempt\u201d to have the security measures removed. The membership was revoked due to this incident, according to the synagogue.<\/p>\n A lawyer representing Congregation Etz Chayim declined comment to National Post.<\/p>\n Justice Victor Toews wrote in his decision that he did not accept that Hoult\u2019s words \u201cwere willfully or otherwise intentionally used to communicate a threat.\u201d<\/p>\n However, Toews noted, in conclusion, that unless there is an underlying legal dispute \u2014 which there was not in this case \u2014 the law is \u201cclear that religious groups are free to determine their own membership and rules.\u201d<\/p>\n
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