March 30, 2023
Ms Marit Stiles,
Leader, Ontario NDP
Dear Ms Stiles;
The half-hearted election-day apology by your party’s newest MPP Sarah Jama to the Jewish community for her numerous past expressions of antisemitism on social media, was singularly unimpressive. The burden of proof is on her, and on the Ontario NDP, to demonstrate that she does not bear animus towards Ontario’s Jewish community, the overwhelming majority of which supports the State of Israel, and many of which have friends and family members who are Israeli citizens.
In this regard, when Sarah posted a Twitter message affecting to connect with US Representative Ilhan Omar, Ontario’s Jews can only ask themselves again, what is going on?
Why would an Ontario MP be so desperate to capture the attention of a Wisconsin Congresswoman, who is infamous for being voted Antisemite of the Year in America in 2019 by StopAntisemitism.org, which extensively documented her unrelenting outlandish antisemitic statements, affiliations and postings? https://www.stopantisemitism.org/antisemite-of-the-year
We Jews face a lot of stereotypes, but generally we aren’t stereotyped as naïve.
Ms. Jama isn’t a rage-farming street protester anymore. She is now an elected NDP member of the Ontario Legislative Assembly, and the Ontario NDP reputation is now tied to everything she says.
We expect Ms. Jama to follow NDP policy in recognizing and affirming the legitimacy of the State of Israel, as a full and equal member of the family of nations, and to stop making dog-whistle statements and references that suggest otherwise. Further, we suggest that she do more to acknowledge that past statements were not just “hurtful” but were based on lies and tropes about the State of Israel which could lead to harming Jews.
We would be pleased to meet with you, and join with B’nai Brith Canada, in making this request.
Regards,
Andria Spindel,
Executive Director