B.C. Jewish Community Troubled by Past Comments of Surrey North BC United Candidate
Vancouver, B.C. – June 11, 2024 – Last night, media shared a letter signed by Mohammad Asad Gondal, the BC United candidate for Surrey North, which accuses the Israeli government of genocide. Mr. Gondal signed the letter on October 19, 2023, as President of the B.C. Muslim Association. His candidacy in the upcoming provincial elections was announced last Sunday.
In response, Nico Slobinsky, Vice President - Pacific Region, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said:
“It is disappointing to see Mohammad Asad Gondal falsely accusing Israel of committing acts of genocide. His broad usage of the term in relation to the Israel-Hamas conflict is inaccurate and diminishes recognized acts of genocide such as those that occurred in the Holocaust, against Armenians, and in Rwanda.
“Accusing the people who suffered the most systematized genocide ever recorded in human history of committing the same crimes they suffered is meant not only to wound them but also to erase their history.
“I hear from community members daily who feel unsafe because statements like the one made by Mr. Gondal often make them targets in their schools, campuses, and places of work.
“I am calling on Kevin Falcon to explain why Mr. Gondal was greenlit, despite his problematic comments, and to distance the party from their candidate for Surrey North in the upcoming provincial election.”
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