The weekly rally at Vancouver Art Gallery marked nine months since the pogrom of Oct. 7. (photo by Anna-Mae Wiesenthal)
Selina Robinson, the former BC cabinet minister whose planned speech at Vancouver’s weekly rally for the hostages was canceled over security concerns earlier this year, was the surprise speaker Sunday at the vigil marking nine months since the pogrom of Oct. 7.
“I was out here nine months ago, representing government and the Jewish community … as we mourned together the slaughter of young people, the rape of women, the death of so many innocent people perpetrated by Hamas,” Robinson said. “I took it upon myself to make sure that we did right by the Jewish community and I took that honour with great reverence and commitment. I did so at the request of [then-premier] John Horgan and then I did it at the request of [current premier] David Eby and I did it diligently, as best I could. And we watched as a government what happens when hate goes unchecked. I never thought in my life, really, that I would see this level of hatred directed toward Jews.”
She lauded fellow elected officials who stand with the Jewish community and said there should be unanimity.
“On this issue, we should not be divided,” said Robinson, a former minister of finance who was minister of postsecondary education when Eby, the premier, demanded her resignation after comments she made on a webinar calling pre-state Israel a “crappy piece of land.”
She credited Jewish organizations and allies for the work they are doing, but warned of a steep road ahead.
“We have a lot of work to do, my friends,” she said. “The antisemitism that has been unleashed is going to be hard to put back in the bottle.”
Congregation Beth Israel’s Rabbi Jonathan Infeld had harsh words for Robinson’s treatment at the hands of colleagues.
“Let’s tell the truth of why Selina was kicked out of cabinet,” Infeld said. “The reason is because Selina was the one representative of the Jewish people in cabinet. Selina was the one person in cabinet, in our government, willing to stand up not for some people’s human rights but for all of our human rights. Selina was kicked out of cabinet because she was a strong woman who stood for all that our province is supposed to stand for and she was kicked out of cabinet because she is a Jewish hero.”
BC Conservative Party leader John Rustad spoke, and was joined at the rally by fellow Conservative MLA Elenore Sturko and a number of Conservative candidates standing in October’s provincial election.
“I am proud to say that I stand here with you,” said Rustad. “I stand against terrorism. I stand against Hamas and what they have done.”
The government in British Columbia needs to do more to counter antisemitism, he said.
“People who come to this province, to live here, come here with the expectation that they will live in peace,” Rustad said. “They come with the expectation to be able to raise a family, to be able to build the future, and what we are seeing today, with the antisemitism that is happening throughout our communities, I just find completely wrong.”
Ezra Shanken, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, expressed pride in the community he serves. He urged elected officials to stand with the community.
“We remember who was there on day one and we see who’s there now and that’s something that we have to stand up for here in our province and in our country,” he said. “We need them side-by-side by us and you need to be the ones to continue to tell them at all levels of government that we need them now more than ever.”
Lior Noyman, an Israeli-Canadian educator and filmmaker, expressed sorrow for victims of violence in Israel and Gaza. He warned the audience to be vigilant against expanding antisemitism.
“Leaders, teachers, parents, Canadians, I am calling to you all,” he said. “Don’t let them walk us back in time.”
Dov (David) Rosengarten, a Vancouverite who is chief of staff for donor communications at United Hatzalah, Israel’s network of 7,000 volunteer first responders, brought greetings and gratitude from Israel.
“Your display of unwavering solidarity every weekend here continues to give us strength through this difficult period,” he said.
Noting the nine-month period since Oct. 7, Rosengarten drew parallels with the human pregnancy term, except that these past 40 weeks have been a time of unprecedented trauma. He sees hope in news of a ceasefire plan and hopes that “these painful birth pangs will end and the citizens of Israel and the Jewish people at large, including here in Vancouver, will be reborn again. After these many painful months, these cries of sorrow will be transformed to jubilation and we will finally hold our beloved hostages and loved ones again and celebrate the victory of unity and, like with a newborn child, we will shape for ourselves a bright future full of new dreams and possibilities.”