A lawyer who lost a two-year battle to list a client’s birthplace as “Jerusalem, Israel” in his Canadian passport will pursue the case despite the fact the Supreme Court recently refused to hear his appeal.

“The issue of ‘winning’ is not finally decided,” David Matas said in an interview last week. “The ultimate decision rests with the [federal] government.”

He added, “All the [Federal Court] decided was that the government policy was legal, not that it was proper. The litigation made clear, at least to me, that the present policy is unjustifiable. All reasons given for the present policy are flimsy and untenable, verging on the outrageous.”

Matas, a Winnipeg-based lawyer, is convinced that the case is far from closed. “I still believe that we can win, in the sense of persuading the government to change its policy.”

He represents Eliyahu Veffer, an Orthodox Israeli man from Toronto who immigrated to Canada with his family about 12 years ago and claimed he had a right to add “Israel” after “Jerusalem” in his passport.

Gordon Wiseman, Veffer’s lawyer in Toronto, suggested that while Veffer has run out of legal remedies, Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservative government may yet come to his rescue.

“It’s the end of the present road,” Wiseman conceded in a reference to Veffer’s appeal. “But Canada’s new government is very supportive of Israel. In the political realm, we may see changes. The court decision is definitely not the last word on the issue.”

Canada does not recognize Israel’s claim to and control of Jerusalem, believing that its status can be resolved only as part of a negotiated settlement with the Palestinians.

In line with this position, Canada’s embassy in Israel is located in Tel Aviv rather than in Jerusalem.

In contesting the current policy, Veffer argued that his rights had been violated.

“I feel that the government is rejecting and denying my religious belief in the significance of Jerusalem to the Jewish religion,” he wrote in a court affidavit when he launched his case two years ago in April. “My religion teaches me that Jerusalem is the capital of Israel.”

Matas failed to convince the Federal Court that Canada permits Canadians to choose which country appears in their passport as their place of birth.

“The general Canadian passport policy is to allow persons born in territories whose sovereignty is not settled at international law to choose the country of birth in their passports,” he explained.

“So, for example, as I understand it, persons born in Kashmir can choose either Pakistan or India. Persons born in north Cyprus can choose either Cyprus or Turkey. Persons born in the western Sahara can choose Algeria or Mauritania. And so on.

“The only exception to this policy is Jerusalem. This exception discriminated against Veffer and also, because of his religious beliefs about Israel, frustrated his freedom of religion.”

Matas intends to submit a letter to the Canadian government setting out his arguments.

“I [feel] that our position was and is correct,” he noted.

Matas described the Federal Court’s verdict as “a case-management decision, not a correctness decision. It does not even address the merits of the case. All the court did is say what is legal, not what is wise or sound policy.”

Veffer is currently completing his military service in Israel, Wiseman said.