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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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US Immigration Judge Rules Palestinian Columbia Student Khalil Can Be Deported
Mahmoud Khalil speaks to members of media about the Revolt for Rafah encampment at Columbia University during the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in Gaza, in New York City, US, June 1, 2024. Photo: Jeenah Moon via Reuters Connect
A US immigration judge ruled on Friday that Palestinian activist Mahmoud Khalil can be deported, allowing President Donald Trump’s administration to proceed with its effort to remove the Columbia University student from the United States a month after his arrest in New York City.
The ruling by Judge Jamee Comans of the LaSalle Immigration Court in Louisiana was not a final determination of Khalil’s fate. But it represented a significant victory for the Republican president in his efforts to deport foreign pro-Palestinian students who are in the United States legally and, like Khalil, have not been charged with any crime.
Citing the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act, Trump-appointed US Secretary of State Marco Rubio determined last month that Khalil could harm American foreign policy interests and should be deported for his “otherwise lawful” speech and activism.
Comans said that she did not have the authority to overrule a secretary of state. The judge denied a motion by Khalil’s lawyers to subpoena Rubio and question him about the “reasonable grounds” he had for his determination under the 1952 law.
The judge’s decision came after a combative 90-minute hearing held in a court located inside a jail complex for immigrants surrounded by double-fenced razor wire run by private government contractors in rural Louisiana.
Khalil, a prominent figure in the anti-Israel student protest movement that has roiled Columbia’s New York City campus, was born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Syria, holds Algerian citizenship and became a US lawful permanent resident last year. Khalil’s wife is a US citizen.
For now, Khalil remains in the Louisiana jail where federal authorities transferred him after his March 8 arrest at his Columbia University apartment building some 1,200 miles (1,930 km) away. Comans gave Khalil’s lawyers until April 23 to apply for relief before she considers whether to issue a deportation order. An immigration judge can rule that a migrant cannot be deported because of possible persecution in a home country, among other limited grounds.
In a separate case in New Jersey, US District Judge Michael Farbiarz has blocked deportation while he considers Khalil’s claim that his arrest was made in violation of the US Constitution’s First Amendment protections for freedom of speech.
KHALIL ADDRESSES THE JUDGE
As Comans adjourned, Khalil leaned forward, asking to address the court. Comans hesitated, then agreed.
Khalil quoted her remarks at his hearing on Tuesday that nothing was more important to the court than “due process rights and fundamental fairness.”
“Clearly what we witnessed today, neither of these principles were present today or in this whole process,” Khalil said. “This is exactly why the Trump administration has sent me to this court, a thousand miles away from my family.”
The judge said her ruling turned on an undated, two-page letter signed by Rubio and submitted to the court and to Khalil’s counsel.
Khalil’s lawyers, appearing via a video link, complained they were given less than 48 hours to review Rubio’s letter and evidence submitted by the Trump administration to Comans this week. Marc Van Der Hout, Khalil’s lead immigration attorney, repeatedly asked for the hearing to be delayed. Comans reprimanded him for what the judge said was straying from the hearing’s purpose, twice saying he had “an agenda.”
Comans said that the 1952 immigration law gave the secretary of state “unilateral judgment” to make his determination about Khalil.
Khalil should be removed, Rubio wrote, for his role in “antisemitic protests and disruptive activities, which fosters a hostile environment for Jewish students in the United States.”
Rubio’s letter did not accuse Khalil of breaking any laws, but said the State Department can revoke the legal status of immigrants who could harm US foreign policy interests even when their beliefs, associations or statements are “otherwise lawful.”
After Comans ended the hearing, several of Khalil’s supporters wept as they left the courtroom. Khalil stood and smiled at them, making a heart shape with his hands.
Khalil has said criticism of the US government’s support of Israel is being wrongly conflated with antisemitism. His lawyers told the court they were submitting into evidence Khalil’s interviews last year with CNN and other news outlets in which he denounces antisemitism and other prejudice.
His lawyers have said the Trump administration was targeting him for protected speech including the right to criticize American foreign policy.
“Mahmoud was subject to a charade of due process, a flagrant violation of his right to a fair hearing and a weaponization of immigration law to suppress dissent,” Van Der Hout said in a statement after the hearing.
The American immigration court system is run and its judges are appointed by the US Justice Department, separate from the government’s judicial branch.
The post US Immigration Judge Rules Palestinian Columbia Student Khalil Can Be Deported first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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Hamas Releases Video of Israeli-American Hostage Held in Gaza
FILE PHOTO: Yael, Adi and Mika Alexander, the family of Edan Alexander, the American-Israeli and Israel Defense Forces soldier taken hostage during the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, pose for a photograph during an interview with Reuters at the Alexander’s home in Tenafly, New Jersey, U.S., December 14, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Stephani Spindel/File Photo
Hamas on Saturday released a video purportedly of Israeli-American hostage Edan Alexander, who has been held in Gaza since he was captured by Palestinian terrorists on October 7, 2023.
In the undated video, the man who introduces himself as Edan Alexander states he has been held in Gaza for 551 days. The man questions why he is still being held and pleads for his release.
Alexander is a soldier serving in the Israeli military.
The edited video was released as Jews began to mark Passover, a weeklong holiday that celebrates freedom. Alexander’s family released a statement acknowledging the video that said the holiday would not be one of freedom as long as Edan and the 58 other hostages in Gaza remained in captivity.
Hamas has released several videos over the course of the war of hostages begging to be released. Israeli officials have dismissed past videos as propaganda that is designed to put pressure on the government. The war is in its eighteenth month.
Hamas released 38 hostages under a ceasefire that began on January 19. In March, Israel’s military resumed its ground and aerial campaign on Gaza, abandoning the ceasefire after Hamas rejected proposals to extend the truce without ending the war.
Israeli officials say that campaign will continue until the remaining 59 hostages are freed and Gaza is demilitarized. Hamas insists it will free hostages only as part of a deal to end the war and has rejected demands to lay down its arms.
The US, Qatar and Egypt are mediating between Hamas and Israel.
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Some Progress in Hostage Talks But Major Issues Remain, Source tells i24NEWS
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
i24 News – A source familiar with the ongoing negotiations for a hostage deal confirmed to i24NEWS on Friday that some progress has been made in talks, currently taking place with Egypt, including the exchange of draft proposals. However, it remains unclear whether Hamas will ultimately accept the emerging framework. According to the source, discussions are presently focused on reaching a cohesive outline with Cairo.
A delegation of senior Hamas officials is expected to arrive in Cairo tomorrow. While there is still no finalized draft, even Arab sources acknowledge revisions to Egypt’s original proposal, reportedly including a degree of flexibility in the number of hostages Hamas is willing to release.
The source noted that Hamas’ latest proposal to release five living hostages is unacceptable to Israel, which continues to adhere to the “Witkoff framework.” At the core of this framework is the release of a significant number of hostages, alongside a prolonged ceasefire period—Israel insists on 40 days, while Hamas is demanding more. The plan avoids intermittent pauses or distractions, aiming instead for uninterrupted discussions on post-war arrangements.
As previously reported, Israel is also demanding comprehensive medical and nutritional reports on all living hostages as an early condition of the deal.
“For now,” the source told i24NEWS, “Hamas is still putting up obstacles. We are not at the point of a done deal.” Israeli officials emphasize that sustained military and logistical pressure on Hamas is yielding results, pointing to Hamas’ shift from offering one hostage to five in its most recent agreement.
Negotiators also assert that Israel’s demands are fully backed by the United States. Ultimately, Israeli officials are adamant: no negotiations on the “day after” will take place until the hostage issue is resolved—a message directed not only at Hamas, but also at mediators.
The post Some Progress in Hostage Talks But Major Issues Remain, Source tells i24NEWS first appeared on Algemeiner.com.