Independent Jewish Voices Challenge Victoria Councillor Motion on Antisemitism

A Jewish collective opposing Zionism rallied forty-five supporters to counter a motion by Victoria Councillor Marg Gardiner implying the city is getting overrun by antisemitic activity triggered by the escalation of the Palestine crisis.

Gardiner introduced a motion titled “City of Victoria response to on-going antisemitic actions” on June 3, which was to be debated on June 10 but got delayed to the next council meeting in favour of time-critical motions.

Since the announcement, a number of Jewish community members have reached out to the Council to counter these allegations, and call for Gardiner to produce evidence to support them. I have published one such letter below at a supporter’s request:

Speakers today, primarily Jewish advocates, have similarly argued against the notion that anti-Zionism is to be conflated with antisemitism. While they do acknowledge occurrences of antisemitism, such as a chilling incident in Montreal where bullet holes were found in a restaurant window, they have come forward in support of the Palestinian community and its supporters, whom they felt were being smeared by groundless accusations which serve only to silence opposition to Israel’s campaign of genocide in Gaza.

In a statement, the rally organisers have also pointed out that violent incidents so far have come from Zionists against Palestine supporters, not the other way around. One such incident was an attempt in December by a hostile to ram his car into a member of the Palestinian community at a Legislature rally.

In her motion, Gardiner advanced that rampant antisemitism in this city, manifesting primarily in the form of offensive graffiti, had to be countered by a municipal initiative, starting with a comprehensive review of public funding to responsible bodies. Gardiner did not substantiate her claims in her address to the council, whether with examples of such graffiti or whatever connection there might be with publicly-funded organisations.

Gardiner eventually watered down her motion to replace “antisemitic action” to “discriminatory behaviour”, following backdoor negotiations according to Councillor Susan Kim, who attended the demonstration from the sidelines and exchanged with multiple protesters. Oddly, the motion passed unanimously, in spite of objections that it was pointless and divisive. It remains to be seen whether any action will be taken as a result.