How anti-Semitism has become a buzzword to attack Palestinians in Canada

The controversial anti-Palestinian comments made by a Canadian politician, her subsequent firing and then her defence by Jewish lobby groups has put spotlight on how “anti-Semitism” has become a buzzword to attack criticis of Israel’s war on Gaza.

Selina Robinson, until recently, was a cabinet minister in British Columbia (BC). Shetold an audience last week that Palestine was a “a crappy piece of land with nothing on it” before European settlers colonised it.

Speaking at a webinar headlined an “Evening With Jewish Officials” that was hosted by B’nai Brith Canada, she said, “there were, you know, several hundred thousand people, but other than that it didn’t produce an economy, it couldn’t grow things it didn’t have anything on it.”

Robinson’s colonial — terra nullius — comment came days after the International Court of Justice (ICJ) called on Israel to stop its genocidal incitement, which has been used to bomb Gaza.

More than 27,800 people, many of them women and children, have been killed since Israel launched a brutal war on the Palestinian enclave on October 7.

Comments such as those made by Robinson are used by Zionists to legitimise expulsion of more than 700,000 Palestinians from their villages in 1948.

There’s a whole body of literature out there that shows Palestinians had a viable economy, their own schools, hospitals, farms and businesses, before they were pushed out of their ancestral lands.

In the webinar, Robinson also claimed recent protests against Israel’s slaughter in Gaza were anti-Jewish.

Her outburst against the Palestinians was in response to a question about the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, which the Israel lobby mobilises to stifle criticism of Tel Aviv’s actions.

In addition to a series of anti-Palestinian statements in recent months, Robinson also abused her authority as BC’s post-secondary education minister to go after anti-war academics.

The University of British Columbia’s anthropology department was reportedly pressured to delete an October statement in support of Palestinians after Robinson met the university’s president.

In a more egregious case, Robinson prevailed upon Vancouver’s Langara College to fire Dr. Natalie Knight, an English instructor.

Knight was cleared by a college board investigation for widely circulated comments backing Palestinian resistance. But Robinson quote tweeted the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs complaining about the college board’s decision.

In a flagrant violation of academic freedom, the minister noted, “I am disappointed that this instructor continues to have a public post secondary platform to spew hatred and vitriol. I have met with Langara College leadership to express my concerns for the Langara and broader communities.”

The next day Knight was fired.

In response, the Canadian Association of University Teachers (CAUT) and Federation of Post-Secondary Educators of British Columbia (FSPE) jointly called for Robinson to resign as post-secondary education minister.

At the same time, her comment that Palestine was “crappy” before Zionism arrived blew up online, prompting thousands of people to write letters calling for her removal.

Over a dozen BC mosques and Muslim associations published a letter saying the governing party’s representatives were unwelcome in their space until Robinson was removed as a minister.

Protests also prompted the government to cancel a number of press events and fundraisers.

BC Premier David Eby at first resisted calls to remove Robinson from his cabinet. He likely worried it would be labelled “anti-Semitic”.

Predictably that’s what the Centre for Israel Affairs and others did once Robinson was removed from the cabinet as the pro-Israel lobby group claimed “Jewish leaders are held to a different standard than non-Jewish ones.”

For its part, the Vancouver Rabbinical Association complained to the premier that he “bowed to pressure from the very same groups that have been at the centre of an unprecedented rise in anti-Semitism and hate directed at the Jewish community.” This is despite a B’nai Brith’s statement distancing that organisation from Robinson’s comment.

So, who is really held to a different standard?

The Israeli lobby wields a unique and powerful stick: the ability to play victim and smear those advocating for justice as racist.

They’ve created various positions, definitions and educational programmes designed to protect Israel and its actions.

One ‘stick’ participated in the webinar with Robinson. Minutes after the minister described Palestine as “crappy” the federal government’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism Deborah Lyons spoke.

Lyons did not remark on Robinson’s racism. Instead, she repeatedly praised Robinson, calling her “wonderful” and said she worked closely with her to combat “anti-Semitism”, which largely means criticism of Israel.

Lyons recently replaced noted anti-Palestinian Irwin Cotler in a position Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government created in 2020.

A former Canadian ambassador to Israel, Lyons organised a pizza party for Canadians fighting in the Israeli military. In January 2020, Lyons held an event at the embassy in Tel Aviv to celebrate the 78 Canadians then fighting for Israel, declaring “we at the embassy are very proud of what you’re doing.”

Despite lending government credibility to what’s turned into the most publicised incident of anti-Palestinian racism in Canadian history, Lyons refuses to apologise for appearing to endorse Robinson’s racist statements.

Instead, Lyons’ role in the scandal highlights the link between officialdom’s ‘fighting anti-Semitism’ and outright anti-Palestinian bigotry. How many people have lost their jobs for defending Palestinians as a result of pro-Israel lobby groups’ demanding their dismissal?

Maybe Canada’s Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism should be renamed Special Envoy to Promote anti-Palestinianism? Maybe pro-Israel lobby groups need to look into a mirror to see who is held to a “different standard”.