After Canada Detention, HRF Files Complaint Against Guy Hochman in the United States

The Hind Rajab Foundation (HRF) has escalated legal action against Guy Hochman, an Israeli propagandist and suspected war criminal, by filing an urgent request for prosecution in the United States, supported by an extensive evidentiary dossier documenting war crimes, direct incitement to genocide in connection with Israel’s crimes in Gaza.

The seriousness of these allegations was underscored yesterday in Canada, where Hochman was detained and subjected to a prolonged interrogation at Toronto Pearson International Airport following the submission of our complaint and the handover of its investigative dossier to the authorities. Hochman was reportedly released only after intervention by the Israeli embassy, highlighting both the gravity of the allegations and the pressures aiming to obstruct justice and accountability.

Building on this, the latest request was submitted this morning to the U.S. Department of Justice, as Hochman is scheduled to perform in New York City later tonight. The U.S. filing is accompanied by HRF’s comprehensive dossier, detailing conduct that may constitute violations of international humanitarian law and U.S. federal criminal statutes, including the War Crimes Act (18 U.S.C. §2441) and the Genocide Statute (18 U.S.C. §1091).

The HRF investigative report on Guy Hochman is now publicly available and can be consulted in full below this article.

Image showing Guy Hochman amid Gaza’s destruction, publicly mocking international accountability efforts and calling for further violence.

Systematic and Public Incitement to Genocide

The dossier further establishes clear, repeated, and public incitement to genocide by Hochman against the Palestinian population of Gaza.

His statements—made both inside Gaza while operating in connection with the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit and during public performances and online broadcasts internationally—include:

• calls for mass killing and extermination of Palestinians;
• advocacy for the use of nuclear weapons against Gaza;
• celebration of civilian deaths;
• calls for starvation, displacement, and collective punishment;
• incitement to destroy civilian infrastructure and religious sites, including statements that “not a single mosque will remain in Gaza”;
• invocation of genocidal biblical rhetoric, including calls to “blot out Amalek”;
• denial of the existence of civilians or protected persons, asserting there are “no uninvolved” Palestinians.

By portraying the entire Palestinian population as collectively culpable, Hochman has actively worked to erode moral and legal restraints on violence, normalising mass targeting of a protected group. Under international and U.S. law, direct and public incitement to genocide is itself a standalone crime, regardless of whether the inciter personally commits physical acts of violence.

Public Support for Sexual Violence and Torture of Detainees

The HRF dossier also documents Hochman’s explicit public support for acts of sexual violence and torture committed against Palestinian detainees, conduct that constitutes a grave breach of international law.

In particular, Hochman publicly defended and glorified members of Force 100, an Israeli military unit whose soldiers raped a Palestinian prisoner on camera at the Sde Teiman detention facility. Rather than condemning the crime, Hochman framed the perpetrators as heroes, contributing to the normalisation and legitimisation of sexual violence, torture, and abuse of prisoners.

Canada: Detention Following HRF Filing

The seriousness of these allegations was already demonstrated in Canada. Following the submission of a complaint by HRF, CLAIHR and LCP and the formal handover of the HRF research dossier, Hochman was detained at Toronto Pearson International Airport and interrogated for approximately six hours regarding his alleged involvement in international crimes.

He was reportedly released only after intervention by the Israeli embassy. This episode is significant. It demonstrates that the allegations raised by HRF were treated as credible and serious, warranting prolonged detention and scrutiny at the point of entry. It also raises concerns about diplomatic intervention obstructing justice in a matter involving grave international crimes.

Agitation and Violence Surrounding His Performances

Despite this detention, Hochman proceeded with public performances. These events, presented as comedy shows, have functioned in practice as moments of political agitation, marked by war rhetoric and inflammatory narratives tied to the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

In the context of his performance in Canada, one of his supporters was arrested after engaging in violent conduct against members of the public outside the venue.

United States: Imminent Risk and Legal Responsibility

HRF has warned U.S. authorities that Hochman’s scheduled performance in New York City poses an imminent risk of further criminal conduct.

New York is home to a large Palestinian-American community, many of whom have lost family members during Israel’s campaign in Gaza. Allowing an individual credibly accused of war crimes and genocide to incite violence in public spaces risks turning the city into a site of secondary harm and intimidation.

In parallel, the HRF has communicated the filing and the dossier to Mayor Mamdani's office.

Toward Accountability

Guy Hochman’s detention in Canada, the length and seriousness of his interrogation, the violent incidents surrounding his events, and his planned tour across the United States all point to a single conclusion: these allegations demand urgent action.

Through these filings, HRF seeks not only accountability in this specific case, but to affirm a broader principle: stages, cultural venues, and cities must not be used to launder genocide, glorify war crimes, or incite violence.

“The Hind Rajab Foundation does not chase comedians, and we do not oppose freedom of expression—even the absolute freedom to hold and express opinions we profoundly disagree with,” said Dyab Abou Jahjah, General Director of HRF. “What we are dealing with here is not comedy. It is genocidal propaganda and incitement to violence. ”

According to Natacha Bracq, Head of Litigation at the Hind Rajab Foundation,

“International criminal law draws a clear line between protected expression and criminal conduct. Direct and public incitement to genocide is a standalone crime.”

“Just like the broadcasts of Radio Rwanda in the 1990s, Guy Hochman’s rhetoric and performances represent a clear and direct incitement to genocide,” says Jake Romm, HRF’s representative in the United States. “The ongoing slaughter and dispossession of the Palestinian people is, in large part, sustained and exacerbated by propagandists like Hochman who dehumanize an entire population through the celebration of cruelty and murder. Every country in the world has an affirmative legal duty to seek out and punish all war criminals and genocidaires within their borders, and the United States is no exception. The U.S. now has a choice: apply its own laws in compliance with its international legal obligations, or further erode the rule of law and allow its soil to be used for the gravest of crimes.”

HRF will continue to pursue all available legal avenues to ensure that inciters and perpetrators of atrocity are confronted with justice—wherever they appear.