Israeli Ambassador to Canada Iddo Moed says his country decided to reallocate resources elsewhere because it wants to 'expand collaboration with high-interest partners.'Adrian Wyld/The Canadian Press
Israel’s defence attaché is departing for home and will not be replaced at the country’s embassy in Canada – a sign, experts say, of an erosion of bilateral relations with Ottawa as ties remain strained over Gaza.
Colonel Ilan Or is returning to Israel at the end of July, the embassy said. The responsibilities will be taken over by a “cross-accredited” attaché based in the country’s U.S. embassy, Israel’s Ministry of Defence said in a statement.
Iddo Moed, Israel’s ambassador to Canada, said the last time his country did not have a defence attaché posted in Ottawa was 14 years ago, in 2012.
A defence attaché is an accredited military officer assigned to a diplomatic mission who serves simultaneously as the senior military representative of their home country’s armed forces and as a technical adviser to the ambassador on defence and military matters.
Philippe Lagassé, an associate professor at Carleton University who researches defence policy, said a defence attaché effectively practises a kind of military diplomacy. “Considering how important military-to-military ties and defence exports are, they play a fairly significant role in modern diplomatic relations,” he said.
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Adding a defence attaché at an embassy is a sign relations are improving, or that there is a real desire to deepen relations on a military-to-military level, he said.
“When you withdraw a defence attaché, the signal that you’re sending is one of many that you can use to demonstrate the relationship is deteriorating,” Prof. Lagassé said.
Canada and Israel signed the Canada-Israel Strategic Partnership in 2014 under then-prime-minister Stephen Harper, which committed each side to “maintain military attaché offices in their respective countries which are appropriate and reflect increased defence relations.”
Asked why Israel is drawing down this post, Mr. Moed said his country decided to reallocate resources elsewhere because it wants to “expand collaboration with high-interest partners.”
He said he thinks a defence attaché is still necessary “but in light of current priorities, the resources allocated for Canada will be directed elsewhere.”
In its statement, provided Sunday, Israel’s Ministry of Defence played down moving the position to Washington, saying it’s not abolishing or neglecting the role of defence attaché for Canada.
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It said the move is taking place as part of a global realignment of its network of defence attachés.
It said cross-accreditation arrangements are widely used, particularly with postings covering the U.S. and Canada, and that it still attaches great importance to its defence relationship with Canada and wants to strengthen defence co-operation.
Relations between Israel and Canada have deteriorated in recent years.
In January, 2024, Ottawa stopped approving new permits for the export of military goods to Israel, in response to criticism of Israel’s conduct in the war on Hamas. At the same time, the government also suspended export permits for components destined for Israel that could be incorporated into items used in Gaza. Critics had noted that existing arms exports permits were still allowing the shipments of defence products.
Ottawa is in the midst of a big push to expand this country’s defence industries and make them engines for economic growth.
Mr. Moed said Israel’s defence companies could play a substantial role in the new Canadian defence industry strategy, but he said he doubted such collaboration is feasible with a non-resident Israel defence attaché.
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In May, the Israeli ambassador told The Globe and Mail that the government-to-government relationship between the two countries is the worst it has ever been, summing up what he describes as a “long impasse” in ties strained during his country’s war with Hamas.
The flashpoint has been Gaza, which is in the grip of a severe humanitarian crisis after more than two years of war between Israel and Hamas. Israel was attacked by Hamas militants in an October, 2023, assault that left around 1,200 people dead and about 250 taken hostage.
Israel responded with a bombing campaign and siege that has flattened much of Gaza’s infrastructure, displaced many and killed more than 72,000 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health. A United Nations independent commission of inquiry last year concluded that Israel committed genocide in the Gaza Strip. Israel has rejected the findings.
In the past year, the federal government has steered a different course than its predecessors, with Prime Minister Mark Carney recognizing a Palestinian state in tandem with other Western countries and over the objections of Israel. Mr. Carney said he did this to preserve the chance of a “two-state solution” for peace in the Mideast and said one of the threats to this was Israel’s contribution to the humanitarian disaster in Gaza, including impeding access to food and other essential humanitarian supplies.
Despite the restrictions on defence exports, Canada still exported some military goods in 2025. In a late May report on defence exports for last year, Global Affairs said Canada exported $14.7-million worth of military goods to Israel in 2025.