Grassroots protest forced the fall of a British Columbia cabinet minister who called pre-Zionist Palestine “crappy” and pressed a college to fire a pro-Palestinian professor. This historic win also exposes the anti-Palestinian character of the mainstream fight against “antisemitism”.
In a webinar two weeks ago headlined an “Evening With Jewish Officials” Selina Robinson said Palestine before European colonization was “a crappy piece of land with nothing on it.” At the event hosted by B’nai Brith Canada she added, “there were, you know, several hundred thousand people, but other than that it didn’t produce an economy, it couldn’t grow things it didn’t have anything on it.”
Robinson’s colonial — terra nullius — comment came days after the International Court of Justice called on Israel to stop its genocidal incitement.
In the webinar Robinson also claimed recent protests against Israel’s slaughter in Gaza were anti-Jewish. Her anti-Palestinian outburst was in response to a question about the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism which the Israel lobby mobilizes to stifle criticism of Israel.
In addition to a series of anti-Palestinian statements in recent months, Robinson abused her authority as BC’s post-secondary education minister. After she met the president of the University of British Columbia its anthropology department was reportedly pressured to delete a statement in support of Palestinians. In a more egregious case, Robinson pressured Vancouver’s Langara College to fire Dr. Natalie Knight. After Knight was cleared by a college board investigation for widely mediatized comments backing Palestinian resistance, Robinson quote tweeted the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs complaining about the decision. In flagrant violation of academic freedom, the minister noted, “I am disappointed that this instructor continues to have a public post secondary platform to spew hatred and vitriol. I have met with Langara College leadership to express my concerns for the Langara and broader communities.” The next day Knight was fired.
In response the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) and Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of British Columbia (FSPE) jointly called for Robinson to resign as post-secondary education minister. Concurrently, her comment that Palestine was “crappy” before Zionism blew up online, prompting many thousands to write letters calling for Robinson to be removed. Over a dozen BC mosques and Muslim associations published a letter saying the governing party’s representatives were unwelcome in their space until Robinson was gone as minister. Protests also prompted the government to cancel a number of press events and fundraisers while international media outlets Al Jazeera, RT and others reported the story.
Having taken a pro-Israel turn, BC Premier David Eby at first resisted calls to remove Robinson from his cabinet. He likely worried it would be labelled “antisemitic”.
Predictably that’s what the Centre for Israel Affairs and others did once Robinson was removed from cabinet. In response, the Israel lobby group claimed “Jewish leaders are held to a different standard than non-Jewish ones.” For its part, the Vancouver Rabbinical Association complained to the premier that he “bowed to pressure from the very same groups that have been at the centre of an unprecedented rise in antisemitism and hate directed at the Jewish community.” This is despite a B’nai Brith’s statement distancing that organization from Robinson’s comment.
So, who is really held to a different standard?
The Israel lobby wields a unique and powerful stick: The ability to play victim and smear those advocating for justice as racist. They’ve created various positions, definitions and educational programs designed to protect Israel.
One ‘stick’ participated in the webinar with Robinson. Minutes after the minister described Palestine as “crappy” the federal government’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism Deborah Lyons spoke. Lyons failed to remark on Robinson’s racism. Instead, she repeatedly praised Robinson, labelling her “wonderful” and said she worked closely with her to combat “antisemitism”, which largely means criticism of Israel.
Lyons recently replaced noted anti-Palestinian Irwin Cotler in a position Justin Trudeau’s government created in 2020. A former Canadian ambassador to Israel, Lyons organized a pizza party for Canadians fighting in that country’s military. In January 2020 Lyons held an event at the embassy in Tel Aviv to celebrate the 78 Canadians then fighting for Israel, declaring “we at the embassy are very proud of what you’re doing.”
Despite lending government credibility to what’s turned into the most publicized incident of anti-Palestinian racism in Canadian history, Lyons has failed to apologize for appearing to endorse Robinson’s racist statements. Instead, Lyons’ role in the scandal highlights the link between officialdom’s ‘fighting antisemitism’ and outright anti-Palestinian bigotry. How many people have lost their jobs for defending Palestinians as a result of pro-Israel lobby groups’ demanding their dismissal?
Maybe Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism should be renamed Special Envoy to Promote anti-Palestinianism? Maybe pro-Israel lobby groups need to look into a mirror to see who is held to a “different standard”.
Please take a minute to email Parliamentarians to demand Lyons apologize for supporting fired Minister after anti-Palestinian outburst
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