British Columbia MLA Selina Robinson has left the NDP caucus with harsh parting words about her party’s treatment of her and its tolerance of antisemitism.
In her scathing resignation letter, Robinson called out several of her NDP colleagues for not only their apathy and lack of solidarity towards B.C.’s Jewish community, but also their alleged antisemitism.
Robinson wrote that after the Oct. 7 attack her colleagues failed to show her and the Jewish community support and solidarity during their troubling times.
“You actually broke my heart in the days after October 7 – the day terrorists went into Israel and brutally murdered, slaughtered, raped, mutilated, killed and kidnapped 1200 civilians,” wrote Robinson.
Robinson accused Premier David Eby of holding Jewish MLAs to a different standard than those who make hurtful comments against the Jewish community, calling the alleged double standard out as antisemitism.
“When an elected person says something that harms the Jewish community whether the comments or position is intended or unintended, the expectation is that a simple apology is sufficient,” said Robinson.
“But when a Jewish elected person says something she ‘has deep work to do’ according to the Premier and is no longer trusted. This double standard is antisemitism.”
Robinson said that Aman Singh, the parliamentary secretary for the environment and MLA Katrina Chen had replied to her email asking the government to make a public statement about the plight of Palestinians, not the Oct. 7 attack. Robinson says she hoped someone would have told Singh and Chen that the comments were inappropriate.
“But it wasn’t their antisemitism that broke my heart. It was your silence to their antisemitism that hurt the most. Not a single one of you responded to their insensitive, disrespectful and inappropriate email.”
The NDP’s parliamentary secretary for anti-racism, Mable Elmore was mentioned, as Robinson accused Elmore of antisemitism for anti-Zionist comments she had made as a union activist.
“Let me refresh your memory, in 2004 during an interview with Seven Oaks, Mable claimed ‘we have vocal Zionists in our work sites, and we have had to battle them’ regarding her anti-war activism in her union,” said Robinson.
Robinson alleged that B.C.’s attorney general, Niki Sharma, had not reached out to the Jewish community at all as of late January and that Sharma was instead focused on drafting legislation.
“So I reached out to Niki at the end of January two months after she became the designated point of contact for a community that is experiencing a spike in antisemitism, a community that is grieving and fearful. It turns out that the community leadership hadn’t even heard from her.”
The minister of mental health Jennifer Whiteside also received a mention, as she was accused of sharing anti-Israel content during the Occupy Wall Street movement, attributing Israeli ‘land theft’ to capitalism, and accusing Israel of ‘pinkwashing.’ Robinson also called out Whiteside for supporting the BDS movement, which calls for boycotts of Israeli products.
Robinson denounced MLA Ronna-Rae Leonard for inviting a Palestinian member of the Israeli Knesset who “negated the existence of Israel.” She also called out cabinet minister Jagrup Brar for quoting Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbles in response to an opposition speech.
Robinson highlighted MLA Janet Routledge’s apology last year for minimising the Holocaust by comparing statements made by opposition MLAs to Nazi rhetoric.
Robinson’s departure from the NDP caucus came shortly after she had resigned as the minister of post-secondary education in Eby’s government.
Robinson says that she plans on sitting as an independent in the B.C. legislature.
