Earlier this week, I reported on Premier Wab Kinew and his continued affiliation with radical activists who deceptively claim to be only anti-Israel, but not anti-Semites.
The growing dissatisfaction within the grassroots Jewish community about his ‘both sides’ game has now turned to anger, and the cohesion of the Jewish community is being put to the test.
Every year, the Jewish Heritage Centre of Western Canada, in partnership with Congregation Shaarey Zedek, organizes the annual observance of Holocaust Remembrance Day — Yom HaShoah. This year it’s set for the evening of Wednesday, April 23.
It’s a solemn affair, and tribute is paid to the six million Jewish men, women, and children murdered by the Nazis and their allies in the Holocaust. It also honours the survivors of those horrors, and many descendants of the victims reside here and participate. Many of the 4000 Israelis who live here, which includes former members of the Israeli Defence Force, also take part.
“Last year, the Lieutenant Governor participated as the lead reader, and this year,” wrote the Heritage Centre, “we are honoured to welcome the Premier of Manitoba to fulfill this role.”
This was not a well-thought out idea.
Kinew’s government gave an award to the Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba (CPAM) last year for “the work, activism and community building (and) bridge building” of the “pro-Palestinian” group.
Their almost-weekly protests have disrupted a number of neighborhoods while speakers smear Israelis as “colonizers” and “baby killers” and the protests have children lead chants of “All Zionists Are Racist.”
I called the Jewish Heritage Centre number and a woman answered, without stating the organization’s name or who was speaking. That surprised me a bit, and I explained I was calling from the Sun and wanted to set up an interview.
Her answer was: “Yes sorry won’t be doing it thank you bye,” and hung up.
The blowback directed to the Shaarey Zedek synagogue, which is hosting the event, was immediate. One young woman, whose parents I grew up with, wrote to the staff: “This is concerning to me because Wab has been mingling with and photographed consistently with the Zeids and other known antisemites that run Palestinian rallies and otherwise promote Jew hatred in Winnipeg.
“He also invited Ramsey Zeid to the Leg and presented him with an award. With that in mind, it feels wrong and potentially even unsafe to have him participate in our sacred community events. Thanks for considering my thoughts.”
The response she received was cautious, and it’s clear the synagogue knew the concerns could not be dismissed out of hand.
“We received many calls about this when the ad went out today. We are taking the community’s concerns very seriously… We care very much and would not want to do something to offend or endanger our congregants or community. We are trying to navigate the delicate political position this has put us in.”
However, the next sentence fanned the flames for Kinew’s critics.
“The Premier has been very supportive of the synagogue over the years and has been a regular reader at this event. We want to keep him “in the tent” if we hope to have our voices heard.”
As the grassroots in the pro-Israel camp see it, Kinew hasn’t been listening.
He failed to condemn the protests when they were moved to outside the Superstore in River Heights, which has a ton of Jewish customers. His Families Minister, Nahanni Fontaine, has repeatedly parroted Hamas claims of a “famine” in Gaze, never mentioning that the hostage-taking terror group steals aid trucks, skims the best product off the top, and then sells the remaining goods at inflated prices to their beleaguered population.
In addition, Kinew announced he’d gladly accept refugees from Gaza into Manitoba without offering any explanation for how they’d be screened for their possible allegiances to Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad and other banned terror groups.
One Jewish woman summarized a belief held by many commenters: “Wab’s party and government lean towards jihad and their extremist supporters.”
In a joint statement to the Winnipeg Sun, the two Jewish organizations asserted, “The Yom HaShoah commemoration… is a reminder of the devastating consequences of unchecked hatred, prejudice, and discrimination.”
More than a few people think it’s beyond hypocritical for Kinew to be invited to be a special guest to the event, when he’s actually promoted his ties to the leaders of the Pro-Palestinian movement in Manitoba, without regard for their documented Holocaust inversion- including accusing Israel and the IDF of doing to the Gazans “what Hitler did to you.”
An Israeli- Canadian mother, whose parents are Holocaust survivors, was incensed.
“Voices heard doesn’t help dead Jews. They can focus on remembrance with another speaker.” Winnipeg resident Richard Weiss served in the IDF from 1995-97. He had his bar mitzvah at the synagoge.
“I think this is awful,” he told the Sun.
“Kinew, who is my MLA, is the leader of Manitoba’s most antisemitic party, with the most antisemitic base, on which he has done nothing to correct. He should be welcome to attend the service, but not to be a part of it.”
“They know he’s playing both sides but they want him “in the tent”? Sorry, this tent is holy,” said Weiss. “We’re not the ones who are covering our faces when we’re out there at marches.”
“If the synagogue can’t reflect that principle then it’s time for the members who share my concerns to walk away from the shul.”’
This kind of split in the Jewish community has been brewing for years.
As the rhetoric and actions of the anti-Zionist mob has ramped up in the last five years and the police have done nothing- shades of Toronto — local Jewish leadership have tried to play the backrooms with political leaders like Kinew.
Instead of resulting in meaningful action to challenge antisemitism, it’s running rampant, and the intimidation of Jewish students at schools and Universities has gotten worse under Kinew’s government.
“Holocaust remembrance is not about politics; it is about history, justice, and the safeguarding of human dignity,” explained the joint statement.
Kinew, as a political leader, has failed to uphold those principles, and the grassroots won’t accept any excuses for him.
Now, the organizations entrusted with Yom HaShoah — who didn’t answer our question if they knew Kinew previously worked for the antisemitic, Holocaust-denying Al Jazeera network — have caused a fissure, if not a fracture, in the Jewish community between those who won’t play politics in the fight against antisemitism, and those who do.
Originally published by the Winnipeg Sun.