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A new memoir by former B.C. NDP minister Selina Robinson describes betrayal by her own party
Ten months after she was abruptly dismissed from her cabinet position within the NDP-led British Columbia government due to an offhand remark that angered pro-Palestinian groups, Selina Robinson is sharing her side of the story in Truth Be Told, a new book coming out Dec. 18 in Vancouver.
During a B’nai Brith webinar on Jan. 30 featuring Jewish public officials in Canada, Robinson, who at the time was B.C.’s minister of higher education and future skills and the most prominent Jewish politician in the province, lamented the lack of knowledge many people have regarding the Middle East and said Israel was founded on a “crappy piece of land.”
Reaction to those words would, within days, spread rapidly across social media, sparking outrage and threats against her. Robinson immediately apologized to Premier David Eby for her “sloppy language”, which, she said, was not meant in any way to be hurtful.
Eby responded, “Happens to the best. Hang in there.”
For a time, Robinson had been assured that Eby “had her back.” However, within a few days, as the crisis reached a fever pitch with thousands signing petitions calling for her resignation and B.C. mosques threatening to ban NDP MLAs from their premises, the premier, as Robinson sees it, cowered to the mob.
Though the behaviour of the provincial government, in her view, was anything but righteous—and the reaction from some sections of civil society straight-out antisemitic—it was the indifference of her colleagues that remains the most upsetting to Robinson.
“It was only when I sat down to reflect and think about what happened, the most painful part was the silence,” she told The CJN. “It was not the haters. It was not people who were saying that Zionism was evil and therefore Jews are evil.
“It was my colleagues who I thought were progressive, who were not living up to their progressive values. People who say they are progressive but do not stand up for the Jewish community are not progressive. This was the realization that could only come with time.”
When he announced her firing, Eby said Robinson should step away because of “the depth of the work” she needed to do to repair the damage she had done. That statement, she said, echoed in her mind for a long time.
“This book is that work,” said Robinson, who also wrote the book because she felt Canadians should have a better understanding of who Jews are.
The book itself begins in May, at the end of the provincial legislative session, as Robinson felt she had been presented with enough time to consider what had taken place three months earlier.
“I needed the time to make sense of what happened to me at the moment when I was being attacked by the haters, by the antisemites and the people who think they are representing those suffering in Gaza, when really all they are doing is hurting Jews in their community,” she said.
“At that time, I remember feeling, ‘You do not understand. I need to explain my side to you.’ My intent was never to hurt anybody, and I am being accused of all these terrible things that do not reflect who I am. Then to have my premier reflect their perspective was so hurtful—that he would believe that I would intentionally go out to hurt people like that in some way and not recognize what was actually happening.”
Perhaps the most stinging rebuke to Eby comes before the book begins. Robinson dedicates her work to former B.C. premier John Horgan, who died Nov. 12, and whom she refers to as “a friend, a leader and a mensch who understood and lived tikkun olam—making the world a better place.”
Robinson said she is confident that Eby’s predecessor would have handled the issue differently. As the provincial political crisis was unfolding in February, Horgan, then serving as Canada’s ambassador to Germany, called Robinson from Berlin.
“John was very hurt for me. He thought it was wrong. What was interesting about that phone call was that he had just gotten back from Dachau. He said, ‘What is happening is horrifying. I am horrified by what is happening to the Jewish community,’” said Robinson who served at various points as Horgan’s minister of municipal affairs and housing, citizens’ services, and finance.
“When I spoke to John, he said, ‘You apologized. It is time to move on.’ That’s not the position that David [Eby] took. And I did tell David that this is the wrong decision.”
Robinson—who, while serving in the NDP caucus, was known as the “Jew in the Crew”—has a cherished photograph of Horgan serving apples and honey to colleagues during a Rosh Hashanah event.
In the book, Robinson makes it clear that she sees herself as a progressive Jew, a Zionist and a believer in a two-state solution, in which Palestinians and Israelis can find self-determination, peace and fulfillment.
“I disagree with the current Israeli government’s policies and practices on many issues, including many of their actions in Gaza and the West Bank,” she writes. “I also disagree with the Palestinian leaders in the West Bank and the terrorist regimes in the Gaza Strip and elsewhere who seek to destroy Israel at the cost of the well-being of more Palestinian generations.
“Palestinians and Israelis both have the right to a homeland, to security and to live without fear. Both peoples need leaders with a vision for coexistence and peace.”
In this country, Robinson said she finds optimism in the knowledge that the vast majority of Canadians are supportive of the Jewish community and the State of Israel.
“We need to have people feel comfortable pushing back against hatred,” she said.
Jewish readers of the book, Robinson hopes, can derive comfort in the realization that they are not alone.
“We have all been in this together and we have to stick together and support each other. We need to give each other strength,” she said. “I am going to fight for the pluralistic Canada that gave my family refuge. I still believe that Jewish values are NDP values, but the NDP has turned on Jews.”
Well before the controversy erupted, Robinson had planned to retire after the provincial elections that were held in October. Though she presently does not know how it will take shape, she intends to continue fighting for the progressive values in which she strongly believes.
All profits from sales of Truth Be Told will go to advance coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians and fight antisemitism in Canada.
The post A new memoir by former B.C. NDP minister Selina Robinson describes betrayal by her own party appeared first on The Canadian Jewish News.
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‘Western-Backed Project’: Founder of Radical Anti-Israel Group Comes Out Strongly Against Ukraine
Nerdeen Kiswani, founder of WithinOurLifetime (WOL), leading a pro-Hamas demonstration in New York City on August 14, 2024. Photo: Michael Nigro via Reuters Connect
Nerdeen Kiswani, the founder of the radical anti-Israel organization Within Our Lifetime, has come out strongly against Ukraine in its defensive war with Russia, derisively labeling the country a “Western-backed project” that is comparable to Israel.
“Sorry, but Ukraine is nothing like Palestine,” Kiswani posted on X/Twitter on Friday. “Palestine is a people fighting against settler colonialism. If anything, Ukraine is more like Israel — a Western-backed project propped up for geopolitical interests & sustained by empire.”
She went on to argue that “people need to stop forcing comparisons between Ukraine and Palestine. They are not the same struggle, not the same history, and not the same reality. These false parallels only distort the truth and erase the unique brutality of zionist [sic] settler colonialism.”
Adding that she “actually feel[s] bad for” the Ukrainian people, Kiswani argued that “their leadership, especially [Ukrainian President Volodymyr] Zelensky, sold them out, propped up Azov Nazis, and let the West use Ukraine as a pawn.”
Kiswani’s comments came on the same day that US President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance got into a heated argument in front of the media at the White House. During the in-person meeting, Trump and Vance called on Kyiv to express greater gratitude for US support and move in good faith toward ceasefire with Russia, despite a lack of clear security guarantees from Washington.
The leading anti-Israel activist’s social media posts also came before Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called Zelensky, who is Jewish, a “pure Nazi” and a “traitor to the Jewish people.”
Kiswani also objected in her comments to what she sees as Ukraine’s pro-Israel stance, writing, “I’m not saying Ukraine is just like Israel, but highlighting ridiculous comparisons to Palestine. But if you don’t like that tell it to Zelensky who praised Israel and called it an inspiration for Ukraine. He even said Ukraine should become a ‘big Israel.’”
She added that Ukraine is “using Zionist tactics in its war strategy.”
Kiswani went on to point out that the “Palestinian resistance” is not aligned with Ukraine.
“Funny how people with red triangles in their bios [are] coming at me for this when the Palestinian resistance has rejected alignment with Ukraine, which is backed by the same imperial powers arming Israel. Solidarity should be rooted in reality, not projection,” she wrote on Sunday in a follow-up to her original thread.
The inverted red triangle has become a common symbol at pro-Hamas rallies. The Palestinian terrorist group, which rules Gaza, has used inverted red triangles in its propaganda videos to indicate Israeli targets about to be attacked. According to the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), “the red triangle is now used to represent Hamas itself and glorify its use of violence.”
Kiswani and her group Within Our Lifetime (WOL) have been at the forefront of anti-Israel and pro-Hamas activism since Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists killed 1,200 people and abducted 251 hostages during their invasion of southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, a massacre that started the war in Gaza.
On Oct. 8, 2023, one day after the biggest single-day slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust, WOL organized a protest to celebrate the prior day’s attack, which it described as an effort to “defend the heroic Palestinian resistance.” Kiswani notably refused to condemn Hamas and the Oct. 7 massacre following the atrocities.
Then, in Apil 2024, Kiswani refused to condemn the chant “Death to America” and organized a mass demonstration to block the “arteries of capitalism” by staging a blockade of commercial shipping ports across the world in protest of Western support for the Jewish state. That same month, she was banned from Columbia University’s campus in New York City after leading chants calling for an “intifada,” or violent uprising.
The following month, Kiswani led a demonstration in Brooklyn, New York in which she lambasted the local police department, claimed then-US President Joe Biden will soon die, and called for the destruction of Israel.
That proceeded the activist saying she does not want Zionists “anywhere” in the world while speaking in defense of a person who called for “Zionists” to leave a crowded subway car in New York City.
WOL, which planned a protest last year to celebrate the one-year anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre, was also behind demonstrations at the Nova Music Festival exhibit, which commemorated the more than 300 civilians slaughtered by Hamas while at a music festival.
The latter protest prompted widespread condemnation, including from Biden and even progressive members of the US Congress who are outspoken against Israel.
US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), for example, posted on social media that the “callousness, dehumanization, and targeting of Jews on display at last night’s protest outside the Nova Festival exhibit was atrocious antisemitism – plain and simple.”
The post ‘Western-Backed Project’: Founder of Radical Anti-Israel Group Comes Out Strongly Against Ukraine first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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‘We Didn’t Provide Aid to Nazi Germany’: US Sen. Tom Cotton Defends Israel’s Decision to Block Aid Into Gaza
US Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) speaks during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, March 11, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Julia Nikhinson
US Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AK) defended Israel’s decision to pause aid deliveries into the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, pointing out that the United States did not provide humanitarian assistance to Nazi Germany during World War II.
“We didn’t provide aid to Nazi Germany during World War II. The idea is preposterous. Why should Israel be forced to provide aid to Hamas-run Gaza?” Cotton posted on X/Twitter on Sunday night.
The White House also expressed support for Israel’s decision.
“Israel has negotiated in good faith since the beginning of this administration to ensure the release of hostages held captive by Hamas terrorists,” National Security Council spokesperson Brian Hughes said in a statement. “We will support their decision on next steps given Hamas had indicated it’s no longer interested in a negotiated ceasefire.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced earlier in the day that Israel would block humanitarian aid transfers into Gaza.
Netanyahu’s announcement came after his government presented the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas with a proposal for a six-week extension of the ongoing Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal. The proposal would mandate that Hamas release half of the remaining Israeli hostages who were kidnapped into Gaza at the beginning of the extension. The rest of the hostages would be released at the end, if Hamas and Israel can agree on a permanent ceasefire deal. Israel would retain the right to restart the war in Gaza if negotiations are unsuccessful by the 42-day mark.
According to Jerusalem, the ceasefire extension proposal was the brainchild of US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff.
Hamas has refused to extend the first phase of the ceasefire deal, claiming that the Jewish state has violated the terms of the original agreement.
The Netanyahu government reportedly believes that pausing aid transfers into Gaza will pressure Hamas into accepting the ceasefire extension. Hamas, which started the Gaza war when it killed 1,200 people and abducted 251 hostages during its Oct. 7, 2023, invasion of southern Israel, dismissed Israel’s decision on Sunday as “cheap blackmail.”
“Unfortunately, Hamas rejected the proposal. As the first phase of the framework has ended, we have halted the entry of trucks into Gaza,” Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said in a statement.
Israel’s decision to block aid deliveries into Gaza was met with widespread backlash, with some observers accusing Jerusalem of committing “genocidal acts” and violating “international law.”
However, others have pointed out that over the past few months, Gaza has experienced a surge of humanitarian aid.
“In the last six weeks, Israel has flooded Hamas Gaza with 25,000 trucks of aid,” noted former Israeli government spokesman Eylon Levy. “The enemy territory whose government is committed to permanent jihad against Israel is amply stocked for months.”
Cotton, the chairman of the US Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, has staunchly defended Israel’s defensive military operations in Gaza. In October 2024, Cotton wrote a letter to then-US President Joe Biden, condemning his administration for threatening an “arms embargo” against Israel.
In December 2024, Cotton introduced legislation to mandate the US federal government refer to the West Bank as “Judea and Samaria” — terminology preferred by Israel. Cotton has also lambasted the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) for allegedly diverting funds intended for humanitarian aid into the hands of the Hamas terrorist group.
The post ‘We Didn’t Provide Aid to Nazi Germany’: US Sen. Tom Cotton Defends Israel’s Decision to Block Aid Into Gaza first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Israel Cut Off Aid to Gaza After Hamas Rejected Ceasefire Deal — And That’s Completely Legal
Trucks carrying aid move, amid a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Hussam Al-Masri
In what may be perhaps the most significant single strategic move since the start of the war in Gaza, the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office announced this weekend that, “the entry of all goods and supplies into the Gaza Strip will be halted.”
Contrary to claims of “war crimes” and “starving civilians,” this new approach to Gaza is not only completely consistent with international law — but is likely to save civilian lives on all sides and bring the war to a close far more quickly than any other approach.
The massacre of October 7, 2023, saw the largest murder of Jews since the Holocaust. The internationally-designated Hamas terror organization, along with Palestinian civilians and UN staff, invaded Israel, killed over 1,200, took 251 hostage, committed mass torture and mass rape, and brought about 16 months of war.
As I wrote the other day, Israel and Hamas completed “Phase 1” of a three stage ceasefire agreement, which resulted in the release of some of the Israeli hostages. However, the parties have so far failed to negotiate the terms of “Phase 2.” US Special Envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff, presented a framework for continuing negotiations, which Israel accepted but Hamas rejected.
In response, Israel made this weekend’s announcement, and closed Gaza to aid deliveries.
Israel maintains a legal weapons blockade on Gaza, which is governed by the Geneva Conventions, The Hague Conventions, and the San Remo Convention. Under these agreements, a legal blockade is permitted as a defense against armed attack. Israel’s blockade of Gaza, which began in 2007, fits this requirement, as it is a response to Hamas’s ongoing rocket barrages on Israeli civilians.
Under these same international rules, the blockading party may not intentionally starve civilians as a tool of warfare. This effectively means that the blockading power is required to transfer humanitarian aid into the blockaded area — a requirement that Israel has fulfilled at a massive scale.
However, the aid that enters into Gaza is typically not transferred to civilians. To the contrary, Hamas, habitually steals international aid, as well as torturing and killing civilians who attempt to take the aid for themselves.
This reality has been confirmed by multiple international sources including the United Nations, and has been caught on camera numerous times.
Hamas uses stolen aid supplies to fuel its rockets, equip its troops, and sells some of what’s left to civilians as a way of raising funds for its war effort. Indeed, many of the resources Hamas used on October 7, and in the months since, were taken from aid supplies, including the tunnels where Israeli hostages are currently held, which were built with cement funded by America’s USAID agency.
In effect, Israel has been fighting a war of survival while also funding both sides: a strategy doomed to fail. This kind of national suicide is absolutely not required by international law.
To the contrary, Article 23 of Geneva Convention IV specifically states that a power is not required to allow the passage of humanitarian aid unless it is satisfied that the aid will not be diverted to enemy combatants. Therefore, not only is Israel not required to transfer aid under the present circumstances, but pressuring Israel to do so is, in itself, a war crime.
International law is structured this way for good reason: funding both sides of a conflict only serves to prolong hostilities and thus increase completely avoidable harm to civilian populations on all sides.
In this case, aid to Gaza ends up almost exclusively in the hands of an internationally -designated terror organization that is also an enemy combatant. The international community has had 18 years since the beginning of the blockade in 2007, and 16 months since the October 7 massacre, to find a solution to this particular war crime, yet has both failed and refused to do so. The consequence has been to prolong the current war, the captivity of the Israeli hostages, and also war’s deleterious impact on the lives of both Israeli and Palestinian civilians.
For the moment, this war crime of compelling Israel to provide aid to enemy combatants, in violation of Article 23 of Geneva Convention IV, has come to an end. This can only result in a quicker defeat of Hamas, and a quicker end to the current war. Such a result will, in turn, provide immeasurable benefits to Israelis, to Palestinians, and to the entire world at large.
Daniel Pomerantz is the CEO of RealityCheck, an organization dedicated to deepening public conversation through robust research studies and public speaking.
The post Israel Cut Off Aid to Gaza After Hamas Rejected Ceasefire Deal — And That’s Completely Legal first appeared on Algemeiner.com.