The Ontario NDP abstained from a motion in the Ontario legislature Thursday expressing strong support for Israel and condemning Hamas. The motion was eventually passed with a 78-0 vote, with Liberals and the governing PCs voting unanimously in support.
The motion was introduced by PC House Leader Paul Calandra on Monday.
Provincial legislators, called MPPs in Ontario, debated the motion for several days, which came in response to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the wake of the latter’s Oct. 7attack that killed about 1,400 Israelis, mostly civilians, and captured around 200 others.
The NDP, however, abstained from the vote and introduced amendments demanding a ceasefire, hostage release and humanitarian aid for Gaza.
These amendments were rejected and the original motion was passed.
A major source of recent controversy within the legislature surrounding the conflict was a post on X (previously known as Twitter) by NDP MPP Sarah Jama.
Jama accused Israel of engaging in “apartheid” and called an “end to all occupation of Palestinian land.” She also blamed settler colonialism for the violence and retaliation by Israel.
“We have seen this definition of apartheid in real time through the continued violation of human rights in Gaza through the use of white phosphorus chemicals, the withholding of access to food, fuel electric and water, and the destruction of the only exit from Gaza that isn’t controlled by the State of Israel,” the X post claimed.
The post made no mention of the Hamas attack that triggered the war or the casualties and captives on the Israeli side.
She faced public criticism after the post from NDP Leader Marit Stiles, who pressured her to apologize for her post.
Jama has since apologized but has not deleted her post. She is also still a member of the NDP caucus despite Premier Doug Ford calling for her resignation.
The Progressive Conservatives have put forward a second motion to ban Jama from speaking in the House until she deleted her post, retracts her statement, and apologizes formally “in her place in the House.”
The motion accused Jama of allegedly making “antisemitic and discriminatory statements” and defending “Hamas terrorists.”
Jama has also filed a cease-and-desist letter against Ford for allegedly making “defamatory” statements about her.
