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Late Wednesday, Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek took to social media to say she wouldn’t be attending the annual Menorah lighting at Metropolis Corridor as a result of occasion being “repositioned to be political.”
She stated on X, previously Twitter, she gained’t be attending as a result of occasion being repositioned as an occasion to assist Israel.
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“After I was requested to talk weeks in the past, it was to deliver conventional greetings celebrating Hanukkah and the spirit of Calgary’s Jewish neighborhood,” reads her assertion on X. “The final minute change goes towards the unique intention and has left me feeling let down by management. I’m saddened that this transformation makes it unimaginable for me to attend tomorrow’s (Thursday’s) occasion.”
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Since sharing, the put up has been seen almost 900,000 occasions, garnering a robust response from the general public.
Ward 6 Councillor Richard Pootmans agreed with Gondek’s determination, including it’s “unlucky such a significant occasion has was a political one.”
“I’m not selecting sides however selecting to sentence divisiveness and conflict. Wishing you a Pleased Hanukkah,” he stated on X.
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MP Michelle Rempel Garner posted an announcement made by Pat Kelly, the Calgary federal Conservative Caucus Chair, on behalf of all Calgary Conservative Members that stated they’re troubled by Gondek’s determination to withdraw from the occasion.
“Her determination to withdraw may dangerously normalize antisemitism at a time when throughout campuses and communities, Jewish Canadians are already feeling threatened,” the assertion learn. “Additional, her absence and the assertion she issued final night time is not going to deliver our metropolis’s communities collectively. As public servants we have to present up, present management and produce folks collectively for our widespread good.”
The assertion went on to say as Thursday night time marks the beginning of Hanukkah by lighting the primary candle of the menorah, they’ll be doing so on the 2 month anniversary of the “brutal assault of Hamas on the Israeli folks.”
“All members of the Calgary federal Conservative Caucus stand proudly with the Calgary Jewish neighborhood, now and at all times.” the assertion stated. We reaffirm Israel’s proper to exist and to defend itself towards Hamas. We reject Anti-Zionism and antisemitism and recommit to making sure that Jewish folks in Canada are free to worship with out risk of intimidation.”
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Kelly completed the assertion by urging Gondek to face with Calgary’s Jewish neighborhood and rethink her message.
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Former metropolis councillor Jeromy Farkas additionally took to social media in response to the mayor’s determination.
“I’m deeply disenchanted by Mayor Gondek’s boycott of the neighborhood menorah lighting at Metropolis Corridor,” he stated on X. “This boycott sends a deafening message that in Calgary, you might be free to be who you might be, love who you like, and worship how you’ll – as long as you aren’t Jewish.”
In his connected assertion, he stated the boycott will solely serve to “validate the damaging anti-Semitic rhetoric and violence rising in our metropolis.”
“In occasions of darkness, we greater than ever want our leaders to lean in, have interaction, educate themselves and work to bridge divides,” he stated within the assertion. “Choosing winners and losers on issues of religion and making a neighborhood pay the excessive value as a result of they dare say ‘by no means once more’ shouldn’t be management.”
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Check out extra social media response to Gondek’s announcement:
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