Independent Jewish Voices proudly marched in Saturday’s protest for Palestine along with over 30 other organizations and hundreds of individuals from a wide range of backgrounds.
As a Jewish organization, we refute Mayor Ken Sim’s inflammatory social media post claiming that this event and councilor Sean Orr’s speech promoted antisemitism. Opposing Israel’s ongoing genocide of Palestinians is not antisemitic. In fact, it is something that we as Jews are called to do in order to uphold our cultural values of pursuing justice and honouring human life. Anti-zionism and criticism of Israel are not antisemitism.
By conflating all Jews with Israeli genocide, it is Ken Sim that is being antisemitic.
It is not controversial to condemn genocide, as Councilor Orr pointed out in his speech, and those who do so are on the right side of history.
View our statement Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/DPfA4q8AbId/
Watch Sean Orr’s speech: https://x.com/COPEVancouver/status/1974692250346242523