The new Human Rights Commissioner in Canada submitted his resignation on Monday before starting his job after Jewish organizations raised concerns related to his previous comments about Israel.

Researcher Birju Dattani was appointed to this position last June and was scheduled to begin his work last Thursday, but he announced at that time that he would take a leave of absence while Justice Minister Arif Virani considered the findings of an independent investigation related to him.

Dattani said on Monday in an online post that he "agreed to resign from the position of Chief Commissioner of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, effective today." He added, "My faith in the work of the Commission, its mandate, and its importance to our democracy remains steadfast."

An independent investigation, according to a report released on Monday, found that Dattani removed from his background check forms the name Mujahid Dattani, which he used in activities and interviews on the Internet addressing the Middle East. The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs pointed to a post under this name that compared Israel to Nazi Germany. Dattani told the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation "CBC" that his goal was to start a conversation.

However, the report stated that the investigation concluded there was no evidence that Dattani, who was raised Hindu before converting to Islam, was anti-Semitic. The report said, "We cannot establish that Mr. Dattani has previously or currently held any beliefs that could be described as anti-Semitic or that he exhibited any bias (consciously or unconsciously) against Jews or Israelis."

Nonetheless, the report emphasized that Dattani should have been more forthcoming when he applied for the job, noting that in interviews and materials submitted to investigators, he "intentionally downplayed the critical nature of his academic work regarding Israel's treatment of Palestinians."