B.C. Premier David Eby says he disagrees with former cabinet minister Selina Robinson’s characterization of some NDP caucus members as antisemitic — but admitted her resignation from the party was a “humbling” moment for him.
Robinson, who stepped down as minister of post-secondary education last month, announced Wednesday she was leaving the NDP caucus but would continue her work as an independent MLA.
“The caucus is feeling quite hurt and sad today,” Eby said Thursday morning during a media scrum.
“Selina was an important part of our team and I know Selina is hurting, too.”
He said he spoke to Robinson hours before her announcement, and he wishes they could have addressed her concerns together, calling it a “missed opportunity.”
“She didn’t feel comfortable bringing concerns … to me. I feel like we could have addressed them together.”
David Eby reacts to claims made by former cabinet minister Selina Robinson that there are antisemitic voices within the B.C. NDP.
‘I felt like I was being silenced’
Robinson, who is Jewish, cited antisemitism in the caucus and indifference to the problem in her resignation letter on Wednesday.
Speaking on CBC’s BC Today on Thursday, Robinson said Eby had previously tasked her with being a voice for the Jewish community, something she said she’s taken “very seriously.”
She said antisemitism has been rising in society, and people within the Jewish community have been bringing their concerns to her. She said she brought her concerns to various members of caucus and heard nothing back from her colleagues.
“No one was taking what I was saying with any sense of urgency,” she told BC Today host Michelle Eliot.
“That was very sad and, quite frankly, frightening for me.”
Selina Robinson joined BC Today to share her motivations for leaving the B.C. NDP caucus on Wednesday. She says the province needs to facilitate understanding between the province’s Jewish and Arab-Muslim communities.
Robinson said she hasn’t felt like she’s been able to use her voice and speak on behalf of B.C.’s Jewish community in recent months.
“I felt like I was being silenced,” she said.
Opposition attacks
Robinson’s resignation Wednesday, along with a letter circulated by her detailing her turmoil and calling out members of the NDP caucus, resulted in heated debate at the legislature on Thursday.
B.C. Conservative leader John Rustad called for Eby’s resignation over “failed” leadership in the morning, before B.C. United’s Kevin Falcon demanded Eby launch an independent inquiry into his own party to look for instances of systemic antisemitism.
Falcon said the investigation should be akin to the one the government launched over allegations of systemic anti-Indigenous racism within the health-care system.
“Would [Eby] do the right thing given these very serious accusations of systemic antisemitism within this NDP government and call a full and independent investigation into these allegations?” he said.
Yesterday, British Columbians heard Selina Robinson, the former NDP Finance Minister, confirm systemic antisemitism in the NDP.<br><br>Today I called for a full and independent inquiry into the antisemitism in David Eby’s government and NDP Caucus. <a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/BCpoli?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#BCpoli</a> <a href=”https://t.co/H5h0h7F5ED”>pic.twitter.com/H5h0h7F5ED</a>
—@KevinFalcon
B.C. United also circulated a letter earlier in the day that detailed unsubstantiated incidences of antisemitism in the B.C. Public Service from December 2023 to January 2024, including testimony from an unidentified person who claimed they were asked to remove their Star of David necklace because it may make “colleagues … uncomfortable.”
B.C.’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change George Heyman, born to Jewish parents who were Holocaust refugees, spoke after question period to denounce opposition attacks, saying Robinson was not the only Jew in government advocating against antisemitism and her experience in caucus was not his.
“The implication was made that there’s systemic antisemitism in our caucus, in our government and that specific people were guilty of antisemitic acts and statements and I simply want to say that as a Jew, who’s been part of this caucus for almost 11 years, that’s just simply not my experience.”
NDP house leader Ravi Kahlon on Wednesday also denied there was antisemitism in the caucus and said Eby has been a staunch advocate of anti-racism initiatives.
Open letter from Jewish community
Three groups representing B.C.’s Jewish community issued a letter saying Eby needs to address antisemitism in the NDP caucus and beyond after Robinson’s exit.
The open letter by the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, the Rabbinical Association of Vancouver and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs says they are “profoundly saddened” by Robinson’s departure and the treatment she says she suffered.
They say Eby needs to “demonstrate leadership” and deal with antisemitism in his caucus, his government, and B.C. as a whole.
Eby said he’s meeting with leadership from major Jewish organizations to address concerns.
Robinson resigned as post-secondary education minister last month after saying modern Israel was founded on “a crappy piece of land” during a public panel, sparking outcry from pro-Palestinian groups that called the comments racist and Islamophobic.
She apologized and committed to taking anti-Islamophobia training.
On Thursday, Robinson said she plans to continue that work personally.
She said Wednesday her heart had been “shattered” by her treatment and that there were antisemitic voices within the NDP caucus.
The Jewish groups’ letter issued late Wednesday says the community was already feeling vulnerable in light of the deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel by Hamas and the resulting conflict.
“People were reeling, were grieving, were stunned … and the only thing my colleagues could say was we need to do a public statement about the plight of the Palestinian people,” Robinson said Thursday. “That was what was antisemitic, in that moment.”
Robinson also said she felt she was a victim of double standards and her voice was no longer being heard within the party.
The letter from the Jewish groups says they have relied on “strong voices at the cabinet table to advocate” on the behalf of their community, and that recent polling showed 75 per cent of B.C. residents are concerned about rising antisemitism in the province.
In a post on social media platform X late Wednesday, NDP Burnaby-Lougheed MLA Katrina Chen said that “not wanting to see more kids and people die in Gaza is not antisemitism.”
