Two MP’s Must Be Censured For Antisemitic Covid Vaccine Smears, NDP Leader Told

B’nai Brith Canada tried to open a dialogue with Angus about his tweet but he defiantly insisted in a statement on January 4 that he held no responsibility for repeating antisemitic bile, because it’s not up to him to believe or tell the truth about Israel.

“Since then B’nai Brith Canada has reached out. They have accused me of promoting “anti-Semitic conspiracy theories” by releasing this tweet. As a parliamentarian involved at the international stage on addressing the crisis of online conspiracy theories I was shocked by the accusation. I reject this accusation. If B’Nai Brith objects to the tone or the facts presented in the Guardian article the appropriate channel is to contact the editor of the Guardian.”

Angus went on to cloak himself in the veneer of a righteous gentile because he visited Yad Vashem once and “every day on my twitter feed I take the time to post a story from the Auschwitz Centre.”

Smothering himself in the ‘ally-ship’ hypocrisy Sarsour has pioneered, he concluded, “I will continue to be an ally in the fight against anti-semitism. I will also continue to advocate to improve conditions for the Palestinian people. This included reminding Israel occasionally of their international obligations particularly in the unprecedented crisis of this pandemic.”

Angus, a member of the Parliamentary Ethics committee, failed to identify a single “international obligation” relating to the vaccine that Israel has failed to execute. He also blocked online communication from the Charge d’affaires for Israel’s Mission to Canada.

“Very disappointing to see that instead of retracting his false statements demonizing Israel, or reaching out to converse, MP Angus found it more appropriate to block me when I suggested he refresh his views on what constitutes antisemitism. I guess pluralism isn’t for everyone,” tweeted Ohad Nakash Kaynar about Angus. Senator Linda Frum remarked, “Blocking a diplomat from an allied country is really unparliamentary behaviour. I’m sorry to see that.”

Thereafter B’nai Brith Canada issued an open letter to Jagmeet Singh demanding that both Angus and Gazan be hauled on the orange carpet.

“Mr. Angus used the term “apartheid state” in referring to Israel and erroneous media reporting suggesting Palestinians were being excluded from Israel’s COVID-19 vaccination roll-out programme,” wrote CEO Michael Mostyn. “Ms. Gazan, citing the same media reporting, accused Israel of “excluding people from being vaccinated based on discriminatory decisions and a clear violation of human rights”. The content of these posts requires censure of these two MPs, an action we urge you to take without delay.”

He continued, “Those who espouse hatred of Israel, often masking antipathy towards the Jewish community in Canada and elsewhere, reinforce the sense of religious hate and bias which we know you reject… My sense is that the social media posts of both Mr. Angus and Ms. Gazan fall within this scope.”

In explaining why Angus and Gazan had to be held to account, Mostyn reminded Singh that “Such statements, inaccurate and accusatory as they are, have consequences, whether intended or not. They only serve to inflame a growing antisemitism and unjustified anti-Israel feeling, in Canada and elsewhere.”

In an accompanying press release, Mostyn rejected Angus skirting responsibility for his actions.

“We have always been clear that elected officials, regardless of political affiliation, bear ultimate responsibility for material they post to social media, including conspiracy theories,” said Mostyn. “Mr. Angus should do the right thing and admit that the story he disseminated is insidiously misleading and that describing Israel as an ‘apartheid state’ is morally, and factually, objectionable. If he is unwilling to do so, then federal NDP leadership must do so for him.”