Ontario NDP leader threatens MPP Joel Harden for supporting Palestinian rights, following in Jagmeet Singh's anti-BDS footsteps

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Written by: Mohammed Abdullah

Ontario New Democratic Party Leader Andrea Howrath recently attacked Joel Harden, a member of Ontario’s Provincial Parliament (MPP), for supporting Khalida Jarrar. A courageous Palestinian mother and lawmaker, Ms. Jarrar has exposed Israel’s criminal record before the International Criminal Court (ICC). Israel has arrested Ms. Jarrar in an attempt to silence her. 

According to Code Pink, “Jarrar was released from prison after being held from July 2017 to February 2019 under administrative detention which allows Israel to detain Palestinians indefinitely without charge or trial and based on secret evidence — Jarrar is one of 5,500 Palestinian political prisoners being held under Israel’s abusive administrative detention”. Ms. Jarrar’s imprisonment is unlawful under international law.

Accordingly, the ONDP and all political groups in Canada must demand that she and all other Palestinian political prisoners be freed.

Canadians who voted for Mr. Harden, as well as the ONDP, should be proud that their MPP is a staunch defender of human rights, particularly as they pertain to the demonized and silenced Palestinians. Mr. Harden rightfully called Ms. Jarrar a “leader” and “the face of a people who refuse to be forgotten”. Not long after Mr. Harden’s spoken support of the Palestinian hero, the Zionist and right-wing B’nai Brith, which attacked York University students who peacefully protested the presence of Israeli soldiers on their campus, last fall, pressured Andrea Horwath to silence Mr. Harden from speaking in favour of Palestinian rights in the future.

Last week, Andrea Horwath told the extreme Zionist B’nai Brith that she has been “assured by MPP Harden that should he make any future comments in this regard they will be clearly and unequivocally consistent with [ONDP] Party’s belief in a peaceful and negotiated resolution to the conflicts in the Middle East”. Horwath essentially says that the ONDP will ensure that Mr. Harden will not defend the rights of Palestinians, political prisoners included, and that if he does, he risks being booted from the party. 

IHRA Bill

Unfortunately, Andrea Horwath and her party were also guilty of not opposing Bill 168, which seeks to ban criticism of Israel under the flawed guise of Anti-Semitism, in Ontario’s Parliament. The bill, which seeks to define anti-Zionism as anti-Semitism under the IHRA definition, says that any criticism of Israel would be an example of anti-Semitism. This bill has been condemned by the Independent Jewish Voices of Canada (IJV).

Instead of being the progressives that they claim to be, not one single ONDP member voted against Bill 168. Instead, they abstained and some even voted in favour of the Zionist bill, which passed reading with votes sweeping in favour, 55-0.

Canadians have a right to boycott states, like Israel, which violate international law. This bill would attack that right, because the bill would legally make the boycott movement against Israel Anti-Semitic, despite the movement simply being a peaceful form of protest against an oppressive state.

Jagmeet Singh

The NDP’s federal leader has also attacked the BDS movement on a Zionist podcast in which he said that he thinks the boycott movement is counterproductive to Middle East peace. Singh then added, “the official position of the [NDP] is that we do not endorse BDS.  The issue has been raised in convention and has been defeated in convention.”

Polls have actually shown that members of the NDP overwhelmingly support the boycott of the state of Israel as a direct means to pressure it into complying with international law. Just three years prior, Singh expressed support for sanctions against the state of Israel.

The NDP’s shift towards the right of the political spectrum is synonymous with their shift in supporting Zionists and in their anti-Palestinian agenda. Only a few MPs have gone against this. They are: Matthew Green, Alexandre Boulerice, Charlie Angus, Niki Ashton, Leah Gazan and Jack Harris.

The majority of the NDP’s shift towards siding with the oppressor, Israel, is linked with their decline in support. Canadians are no longer able to identify a difference between the NDP, the Greens and the Liberals. All parties attack Palestinian supporters and try to prevent free speech that favours Palestine.

Reasons for Optimism

Despite Andrea Horwath and Jagmeet Singh’s disgraceful leadership in the ONDP and NDP, respectively, a lot is currently happening, in Canadian politics, that should give Canadians hope.

Dimitri Lascaris, a strong and well-respected human rights defender, is running to be leader of the Green Party of Canada (GPC). Just one week ago, the Green Party dropped Mr. Lascaris from the race, for what many believed was because he’s a strong defender of Palestinian rights. But Mr. Lascaris appealed the party’s decision and won, gaining a lot of support in the process. GPC elections will take place this fall, and should Mr. Lascaris win, it will finally provide voters with a real progressive choice when it comes to voting. As he is a strong advocate of environmental, labour, Indigenous, student, and Palestinian rights.

Recently, NDP MP Charlie Angus called for Canada to prepare to impose sanctions on Israel, should it proceed with illegally annexing the West Bank, in breach of international law.

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Queen's ParkMohammed Abdullah