Jerusalem Foundation of Canada Board Member Profile: Jacques Gauthier, PhD

Jacques is an international lawyer and a leading scholar regarding sovereignty over Jerusalem and its Old City. More than twenty years of exhaustive research culminated in a doctorate from the University of Geneva in 2007, which focused on the competing claims to the City of Jerusalem under international law.  Alongside practising law for more than 40 years and his dedication to his family, Jacques has been devoted to proving the legitimacy of the Jewish claim to Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria. He is asked to speak regularly, around the world, on the legal basis of Israel’s very existence. To learn more about Jacques’ background and biography, see his professional biography below.

Jacques, given your decades of legal advocacy, research and education, it’s almost silly to ask you to describe your dedication and commitment to Jerusalem in a short profile. Whenever you speak, however, there is always deep knowledge imparted throughout your teachings. So, if you can, please share why you are committed to the Jerusalem Foundation of Canada?

I have spent decades visiting Jerusalem – a city which has been the focus of a significant component of my life in academic and legal initiatives. Jerusalem also holds a sacred place in my life.

Professionally, I have organized dozens of conferences, made presentations in various parliaments and counselled government officials in Jerusalem and around the world, where my goal has been to highlight the foundations of the sovereignty claims of Israel and the Jewish people to Jerusalem under international law.

How can the ongoing pursuit of my life’s work be more consequential? Even if I succeed in explaining to people worldwide the irrefutable legal entitlements, Jerusalem is still a complex urban center; a living, breathing ecosystem with inhabitants going about their daily lives.

I believe that part of the answer is that I can increase the fruitfulness and impact of my work through the Jerusalem Foundation. It is the Jerusalem Foundation’s careful stewardship of intercultural dynamics through civil society efforts that brings balance to my legal endeavours.

Even if I am completely right about who has sovereign rights – which I believe to be true, it is essential to reach out to the people who live there. The Jerusalem Foundation – with its commitment to communal strength, creative culture, and future leadership – has acquired vital knowledge and wisdom about living together in a shared society.

So why do I feel like my involvement is so important?

The Jerusalem Foundation is making a meaningful impact through its support of the   Tower of David’s ancient citadel, the National Library, the Community Centres in Beit Hanina, Canada House, The Resilience Centre, The Jerusalem Intercultural Centre – the list goes on … and in the end, it is not one specific program, but rather, the exposure to the human facets of Jerusalem that is most valuable to me.

It is through the Jerusalem Foundation that I have increased my understanding of what real life is like for Jerusalemites, and the type of supports they need.

I have spent much time focusing on the legalities of crucial issues. I do that to consolidate the foundations of my arguments. I need the balance that comes from connecting deeply with the city’s human experiences.

If I am to make a real difference, I do not want just one people to understand their rights. Even if the sovereignty over Jerusalem is rightfully Israel’s – the inhabitants of the Holy City need to live together – descendants of the Abrahamic religions, including Christians, Muslims, Jews, and all the Jerusalemites of varying ethnic and cultural backgrounds – must coexist and be aware of their rights. And that entails certain compromises in respect to the practical things.

The aims of the Jerusalem Foundation complement what drives me in my legal pursuits. It motivates me to keep moving forward and inspires me deeply. The Jerusalem Foundation allows me to better understand the daily challenges and joys of the people of modern Jerusalem – religious to secular, multi-racial, multi-ethnic people.

• Jacques has been on the board of the Jerusalem Foundation of Canada since 2021. He has travelled to Jerusalem countless times alone, with organizations and with his family.

Biography – Jacques Gauthier, PhD

Dr. Jacques Gauthier is a Canadian international lawyer and scholar. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Geneva, with a dissertation entitled: Sovereignty Over the Old City of Jerusalem. Dr. Gauthier’s international practice has focused on numerous human rights issues. He is the founder of the Toronto based international law firm Gauthier + Associates, which was established in 1984. He has served as legal counsel to different governments including the governments of France, Spain, Mexico and Canada. In 2000, he was knighted by the President of France as Chevalier de l’Ordre National du Mérite. In 2015, he was again knighted by the President of the Republic of France as he was appointed Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur. He received the Canadian Anti-Semitism Education Foundation 2020 Advocate Award of Excellence. Dr. Gauthier is listed by The Algemeiner newspaper of New York as “one of the top 100 individuals who have positively influences Jewish life in 2019.” In February 2025, Gauthier + Associates was awarded the Par Excellence Award by the France Canada Chamber of Commerce.

Dr. Gauthier has presented his findings on the Sovereignty over the City of Jerusalem and the disputed territories in many international centers including London (House of Commons and House of Lords), Washington (US Congress), Rome (Italian Senate), New York (United Nations),  Brussels  (European  Union  Parliament),  Tokyo  (Japanese  Parliament),  Ottawa (Canadian House of Commons), and The Hague (Dutch Parliament). His work has also been presented in conferences in Jerusalem, Basel, Geneva, Sanremo and Toronto.