Taking Zero Accountability, Mayor Chow Instead Blames, Denies, Deflects on Why She let Down the Jewish Community on October 7
Toronto, ON – October 9, 2024 – As Mayor Olivia Chow continues to evade responsibility for missing the important October 7 commemoration event with Toronto’s Jewish community, Michelle Stock, Vice President, Ontario, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), released the following statement:
“Mayor Olivia Chow seems to find all the words except the right ones to explain away her decision not to attend the October 7 commemoration in Toronto. Her interview today on NewsTalk1010 and her statement before today’s council meeting were embarrassing exercises in avoiding accountability for her and her staff who disappointed thousands and thousands of members of Toronto’s Jewish community.
“After giving her the benefit of the doubt about missing three separate invitations and being asked personally by councillors about her attendance, her interview today made clear that her absence was not the result of not receiving an invitation, but that she “got caught up in the long discussion on bike lanes over Kingsway area where emotions were very high and the meeting went quite long and by the time I was done, I was exhausted” and that she “didn’t even know precisely what time the event was” – an indication that, after denying it, she did in fact know there was a commemoration scheduled.
“As exhausting as discussing bike lanes may be for the Mayor, we assure her the Jewish community is more exhausted. Over the last year, Toronto’s Jewish community has had to justify their right to exist as Jews, feeling unsafe as constituents in the city Mayor Chow is purported to lead. Although she claims she wants her city to be safe and inclusive for everyone, her persistent inaction says otherwise.
“Let me be clear, showing up to a Rosh Hashanah event to celebrate the Jewish New Year is not the same as paying respects to the 1,200 lives lost and the 101 hostages remaining in Gaza since October 7, 2023. Mayor Chow has had a year to direct police to end the rampage of protests in our streets, but she has failed to do so. If the Mayor bothered to show up at the October 7 vigil, she would have witnessed firsthand the significant security and police presence required just to ensure the Jewish community could mourn safely in our city.
“It is unacceptable. “Sorry” should not be the hardest word for her to say. We’re demanding an apology, and, if she is truthful about her regret, we hope she will agree to meet with CIJA without delay to discuss ways she can protect our community from the hate we’re facing today, as we have been over the last year.”
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