Winnipeg City Councillor Sherri Rollins is calling on Mayor Scott Gillingham to rescind a recent civic award presented to Ramsey Zeid, president of the Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba (CPAM), after Zeid promoted a video on CPAM’s official social media calling for global, violent uprisings against Israel and its supporters — ncluding in Canada.
The video, originally posted by a group called “metamofysis,” describes Zionists as “demonic,” calls Israel a “terrorist foreign entity,” and urges a coordinated campaign of sabotage targeting city halls, logistics chains, and corporations. It specifically encourages violent revolution over peaceful protest, ending with the line: “There is no solution but intifada revolution. Intifada until liberation, or we scorch the earth.”
The post surfaced just days after Zeid received a 2025 Mayor’s BIZ Award, a recognition organized by the Mayor’s office to honour business and community leaders. Rollins, who is Jewish and currently representing Winnipeg at a human rights conference in South Korea, issued a public letter on Sunday condemning the award and urging the Mayor to act.
Rollins stated the video targets individuals like her — Jewish, Zionist, and in public office — as enemies to be “dealt with.” She also noted that Zeid has previously shared content linking to lists of Jewish individuals in positions of influence, including one where she and her daughter were identified by name and photo.
“This is not a political disagreement. It is a campaign of dehumanization,” Rollins wrote. “Mr. Zeid is not simply the owner of a local business. He is the face of repeated and deliberate public efforts to normalize rhetoric that incites hatred.”
The councillor rejected the idea that this could be dismissed as personal opinion. “Framing these actions as ‘personal viewpoints,’ as the Mayor’s office has done, offers cover to those who threaten the safety of others under the guise of free expression,” she wrote.
Rollins referenced a recent murder in Washington, D.C., involving two victims — one German-Israeli, one American Jewish — allegedly targeted by a perpetrator echoing slogans heard at anti-Israel rallies, including those organized in Winnipeg. She drew a direct connection between rising anti-Israel rhetoric and the risk of real-world violence.
“The Mayor’s Biz Zone Awards are managed by your office,” she wrote. “When the honour is given to Mr. Zeid while he continues to share content calling for escalation and destruction, it is not a ‘neutral act.’”
Mayor Gillingham’s office has not yet responded to the letter publicly. Zeid has not commented on the criticism.
Rollins concluded by urging both the Mayor and Council to disavow Zeid’s message and to invest in hate crime education for prosecutors. “Make it clear,” she said. “Hate is not just a ‘personal viewpoint.’”
This article was first published in the Winnipeg Sun.