In an astonishing display of hypocrisy, Premier Wab Kinew’s decision to participate in an Iftar organized by the Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba (CPAM) has not only betrayed the Jewish community but has now led to him being viciously attacked by the very radicals he sought to appease. The Iftar, attended by notorious antisemite Ramsey Zeid and other anti-Israel activists, was an exercise in political theater—an event designed to legitimize and mainstream extremist voices under the guise of ‘community engagement.’
But now, barely a week later, the same radical elements that welcomed Kinew with open arms are condemning him in public protests, proving once again that no amount of pandering will ever be enough for those who seek Israel’s destruction.
The backlash against Kinew came swiftly and viciously. At CPAM’s own weekly anti-Israel protest—a gathering notorious for its incitement, Holocaust inversion, and calls for an intifada—an Indigenous protestor took the megaphone and denounced the Premier in language dripping with moral grandstanding.
“That means holding Wab Kinew accountable for his spinelessness and using his Native identity to support this genocide. I have never been more ashamed to be Native. Is this the best that we can do? No, I reject his position. He has been spineless. Used opportunities to use Palestinians to whitewash his support for that apartheid regime. Never again. Thank you.”
But here’s the rub: this same individual has been a regular at CPAM’s Jew-hating demonstrations. He has stood shoulder to shoulder with those chanting for an intifada. He has marched alongside those who glorify terrorism against Jews. He has amplified the same voices that compare the IDF to the Nazi SS. And yet, after welcoming Kinew into their ranks for an Iftar meant to cement his ties with their movement, they now turn on him in a display of self-righteous outrage. This is the pro-Palestinian playbook in action—useful allies are discarded the moment they are no longer deemed useful.
Kinew’s participation in the CPAM Iftar was always a disgrace. It was a calculated political move designed to curry favor with an organization that has been at the forefront of pro-Hamas activism in Manitoba. Ramsey Zeid, CPAM’s president, has made no secret of his antisemitism. His organization promotes extremist rhetoric, incites hatred against Jews, and has repeatedly created a hostile environment for Manitoba’s Jewish community.
Despite all this, Kinew not only attended their event but lent CPAM and Zeid the credibility of his office. In doing so, he betrayed every Jewish citizen in Manitoba and sent a dangerous message that antisemitism is negotiable—that those who demonize Israel and whitewash terror can still be considered respectable members of civil society.
But in their insatiable hunger for ideological purity, CPAM and its radicals have now turned on Kinew for failing to be sufficiently extreme. Their outrage is not about principle—it is about the fact that even someone who sat at their table and broke bread with them is still not deemed a worthy ally unless he explicitly adopts their maximalist, eliminationist stance against the Jewish state.
The Indigenous activist’s condemnation of Kinew is not just ironic—it is emblematic of the broader strategy of the pro-Palestinian movement. This movement has long relied on co-opting other marginalized communities, using them as tools to spread their anti-Israel propaganda while ignoring or excusing the human rights abuses committed by their own side. Indigenous activists are courted and exploited by anti-Israel forces that cynically attempt to draw false parallels between the history of colonialism in North America and the Jewish people’s return to their ancestral homeland.
But as this incident shows, their solidarity is conditional, their outrage selective, and their principles entirely transactional. One moment, Kinew is a welcomed guest at their table, praised for his participation in their ‘community event.’ The next, he is being publicly shamed and vilified for failing to be an obedient foot soldier in their ideological war against the Jewish state.
This is not about Indigenous rights. This is not about justice. This is about a movement that demands total and unwavering loyalty to its anti-Israel agenda—and punishes anyone who does not comply.
Premier Wab Kinew cannot have it both ways. He cannot expect to pander to antisemitic organizations while simultaneously maintaining the illusion of being a leader for all Manitobans. His attendance at the CPAM Iftar was an insult to every Jewish citizen in this province, and the backlash he is now facing from the same radicals he tried to appease is proof that his attempt to straddle both sides has failed miserably.
Manitoba’s Jewish community deserves real leadership—leadership that does not sell out its values for political expediency. Kinew must answer for his decision to legitimize CPAM, and he must now reckon with the fact that his political calculations have backfired spectacularly.
If there is one lesson to be learned from this debacle, it is this: no matter how much one bends the knee to the pro-Palestinian movement, it will never be enough. Their goal is not dialogue. Their goal is not peace. Their goal is the total delegitimization and destruction of the Jewish state.
And anyone who fails to march in total lockstep with that agenda—no matter how much they have already conceded—will eventually be cast aside as just another ‘Zionist collaborator.’
The hypocrisy of this entire situation is staggering. Premier Wab Kinew embraced a group that has relentlessly targeted Manitoba’s Jewish community, only to be attacked by that same group for not doing enough to advance their anti-Israel extremism. The Indigenous protestor’s words serve as a stark reminder of how the pro-Palestinian movement operates: using marginalized identities as shields for their bigotry while turning on anyone who does not meet their ever-moving standard of ideological purity.
This is the true face of the pro-Palestinian movement in Canada: a movement built on double standards, moral inconsistency, and a relentless commitment to demonizing the world’s only Jewish state. Kinew’s political miscalculation has laid this hypocrisy bare for all to see. The question now is: will he finally take a stand against the antisemitism he has emboldened, or will he continue down the path of appeasement, knowing full well that it will never be enough?