Robinson said she had met with Premier David Eby to pitch the idea of antisemitic and anti-Islamophobia training for the caucus but that idea was rebuffed.
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Selina Robinson, B.C.’s most prominent Jewish politician, on Wednesday said she’s leaving the B.C. NDP caucus over concerns it hasn’t done enough to fight antisemitism among fellow MLAs.
The bombshell announcement comes a month after Robinson was forced to resign from cabinet after public backlash to comments that Israel was founded on a “crappy piece of land with nothing on it.”
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Robinson said she talked to the NDP caucus and the Premier’s Office about instituting antisemitic and anti-Islamophobia training for all MLAs, and opportunities to create a dialogue between the Jewish community and Palestinian and Arab communities amid the division created by the Israel-Hamas war.
Robinson said she was rebuffed.
“That’s really the work that we should be doing. But right now, government isn’t interested in doing that work.”
That’s what led Robinson to decide she “can’t continue to be the only voice speaking up against antisemitism and hatred.” She will sit as an Independent.
Robinson said she’s been upset by anti-Israel statements made during the B.C. NDP convention in November and said fellow NDP MLAs who made antisemitic comments didn’t face the same consequences that she did.
Robinson said she wasn’t satisfied with Premier David Eby’s response when the University of B.C.’s student union considered holding a referendum about whether Hillel House, which promotes Jewish life on campus, should be evicted from campus. Even though the referendum wasn’t held and Eby condemned the student union’s actions during question period, Robinson said the actions by the student union were blatant antisemitism.
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Eby issued a statement Wednesday evening that said: “I’m saddened to see Selina Robinson make this decision today. Clearly, she is hurting and carrying a lot of pain.”
He said he has “deep respect and gratitude for all of the work she has done as a minister, as an MLA in our caucus, and her advocacy for the Jewish community.”
“I wish she had brought her concerns to me directly so we could have worked through them together,” he said.
NDP House Leader Ravi Kahlon rejected the allegations that there’s antisemitism within the caucus.
“No, I would not agree with that,” he told reporters at the legislature. “We are always speaking out against hate toward any community.”
Robinson, 60, said that since cabinet resignation Feb. 5 she’s been “crying every day.”
“Not just not for me, but for the voice that I brought to caucus,” she said. “A voice that I brought to the cabinet, to do the work that I did for two premiers who asked me specifically to engage with the Jewish community.”
Robinson said despite agreeing to take anti-Islamophobia training to repair the harm caused by the “crappy piece of land” remark, her conversations with Eby left her no choice but to resign.
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After Eby announced her resignation, he faced anger from members of the B.C. Jewish community who were disappointed that an ally in the fight against antisemitism was treated unfairly.
Robinson, who has served as finance minister, post secondary education minister, and minister of municipal affairs and housing, had already announced she won’t run for re-election in the Coquitlam-Maillardville riding that she has held since 2013.
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