To those who knew and supported his work, he was a tireless fighter for a cause too often overlooked.
Salomon Benzimra, a staunch advocate for what he argued was Israel’s rightful land title under the 1920 San Remo conference and a vocal opponent of what he saw as the international community’s legal violation of this title, died March 15 of a massive heart attack.
He died at age 72 on an El Al flight back to Toronto from Israel, where he’d met with Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Tzipi Hotovely and Education Minister Naftali Bennett to discuss Israel’s land rights.
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Benzimra was a chemical engineer by profession, but had, since 9/11, steeped himself in the historic legal documents of the British Mandate for Palestine, a resolution that came out of the San Remo conference, which was attended by the principal Allied powers of World War I and determined the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire’s territories in the Middle East.
Through speaking engagements, his work with Canadians for Israel’s Legal Rights (CILR), a group he co-founded in 2009, and his 2011 book The Jewish People’s Rights to the Land of Israel – published in English and Hebrew as an e-book – Benzimra used his study of the British Mandate to argue that the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine was illegal, as it contained a clause forbidding the transfer of the land.
“His life’s aim was for the government of Israel to claim its legal land rights, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea,” said Goldi Steiner, who co-founded CILR with Benzimra.
“He wasn’t technically an expert in law, but there were many times that lawyers would comment that his was superior to any lawyer’s mind – it was very clear,” she added.
In addition to meeting with Israeli politicians, Benzimra and Steiner collaborated with the European Coalition for Israel to host an educational event in San Remo, Italy, in 2010, to marking the 90th anniversary of the San Remo Conference. It was attended by politicians and activists from Europe, the United States and Canada.
Benzimra was born in 1943 in the international zone of Tangiers (now Morocco), into a Spanish-speaking family whose roots trace back to Inquisition-era Spain. His ancestors were among the many Jews who crossed the Straits of Gibraltar to escape persecution during the 1400s.
Benzimra’s mother died when he was a child, and he was raised by an uncle.
He was educated in Paris and immigrated to Canada, living first in Montreal and then moving to Toronto in 1976.
As an engineer, he worked for the United Nations, the World Bank and several large chemical companies.
“He was the most gentle, humble and good-hearted person I’ve ever met – this has been corroborated by everyone who’s reached out to me since his death. He stood for justice and truth,” Steiner said.
Mark Vandermaas, director of training for Israel Truth Week, said Benzimra, whom he met in 2012, had “a really profound effect on me and the work I do reaching out to pro-Israel people.”
Vandermaas often came to Benzimra, who he said was “modest and respectful,” with legal questions. He noted that Benzimra’s book, intended as a teacher’s guide for high school students, which Steiner said was delivered to all members of the Knesset, is “a powerful tool to show the world that it had given the Jewish People back its homeland.’”
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Benzimra was dismayed by Israel’s portrayal in the media and the Israeli government for, Vandermaas said, “not holding up its land title deed… he felt what was missing from the debate on the pro-Israel side was the use of a moral argument to counteract the anti-occupation stuff… He felt it was like a neighbour accusing you of stealing your land. Wouldn’t you then hold up your title deed?”
Vandermaas said Benzimra was well liked by everyone, even those who disagreed with him.
“He really was a warrior for the dignity and good of the Jewish People.”
