Former U.S. Justice official to join Canada war crimes unit

TORONTO, Dec. 17 (JTA) — A new appointment in Canada’s war crimes unit has raised hopes that the government will now move at full speed against suspected Nazi war criminals. After years of being accused of dragging its feet on the issue, Canada appointed to its Nazi-hunting unit Neal Sher, the former director of the U.S. Justice Department’s Office of Special Investigations. The appointment of Sher, who has also served as executive director of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, was seen by Jewish leaders as a hopeful sign of change in Canada’s manner of dealing with suspected war criminals who have been living undisturbed throughout Canada for decades. “We have been urging successive governments for years to consider bringing in outside counsel,” said Professor Irving Abella, chair of the war crimes committee for the Canadian Jewish Congress. “They could not have made a better choice than Neal Sher,” he added. “His record as head of the American Nazi-hunting office over a 12- year period was impressive. I think it is a sign that the government does indeed realize that time is running out and they must take whatever measures necessary to bring to justice the perpetrators of heinous crimes committed during World War II.” Meanwhile, Bill Hobson, the former head of Canada’s war crimes unit, has charged the government with attempting to cover up evidence of political manipulation, incompetent management and anti-Semitic prejudice within the Justice Department. Hobson accused senior bureaucrats in Ottawa of putting a low priority on the prosecution of alleged Nazi war criminals living in Canada.