After a wave of condemnation of Ontario Member of Provincial Parliament Joel Harden for what critics said were comments holding Canadian Jews accountable for their tolerance of supposed Israeli violence, the The New Democratic Party (NDP) member issued an apology on Sunday.
In footage from a 2021 interview of Harden by the Ottawa Forum on Israel Palestine (OFIP) that recently surfaced and gained prominence, Harden stated that he has "asked many questions of Jewish neighbors here about how much longer we should put up with this, because if I were to name... the single greatest threat – the single greatest origin of violence in the Middle East – is unquestionably the State of Israel and the way in which they feel absolutely no shame in defying international law doing whatever they want."
Harden also condemned antisemitism and said that manifestations of Jew-hatred in pro-Palestinian camps were unhelpful to the cause, but conditioned that "I can also understand from the pro-Palestinian standpoint how the barbarity and the scale of viciousness can lead someone to strike out with intemperate hateful language because of that real hurt where people are at."
"I have asked many questions of Jewish neighbors here about how much longer we should put up with this, because if I were to name...the single greatest threat, the single greatest origin of violence in the Middle East is unquestionably the State of Israel."
Ottawa Centre MPP Joel Harden
Apologies from Harden and Ontario NDP
In a statement published on the Ontario NDP website on Sunday, Harden said: “I would like to apologize unreservedly to the Jewish community for comments I made during an interview with the Ottawa Forum on Israel Palestine. I spoke in a way that perpetrated an antisemitic stereotype toward Jewish neighbors. I regret my choice of words and sincerely apologize to the Jewish community. You have my commitment that it won't happen again and I will continue to work with Jewish leaders who can help me understand antisemitism.”
Last year I participated in an interview with the Ottawa Forum on Israel Palestine, where I spoke in a way that perpetrated an antisemitic stereotype towards Jewish neighbours. I regret my choice of words. My full statement and apology is below. https://t.co/h6IPxjD68G
— Joel Harden (@JoelHardenONDP) November 20, 2022
The interim leader of Harden's party, Peter Tabuns, condemned the remarks the same day.
“Mr. Harden’s comments were completely unacceptable and hurtful to the Jewish community," he said. " I welcome his commitment to further education about antisemitism and look forward to hearing from him about it. Antisemitism has no place in our party.”
This evening we became aware of a series of videos of Ottawa Centre MPP Joel Harden spreading what can only be called antisemitism and misinformation about Israel. (1/3)
— CIJA (@CIJAinfo) November 20, 2022
"I can also understand from the pro-Palestinian standpoint how the barbarity and the scale of viciousness can lead someone to strike out with intemperate hateful language because of that real hurt where people are at."
Ottawa Centre MPP Joel Harden
Jewish Ontarians "accountable for the actions of Israel"
When the footage surfaced over the weekend, The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and the Jewish Federation of Ottawa released a joint statement calling for the removal of elected officials who "persistently" spread antisemitism, and condemning what they described as remarks that held Jewish Ontarians "accountable for the actions of Israel."
“In a time when anti-Jewish hate is on the rise, it’s deeply disappointing and hurtful that an elected official would share such rhetoric so casually," read the statement. "Just as harmful words have consequences, so too should there be consequences for those who repeatedly advance or promote hateful tropes and charges."
Any elected official, at any level, who has engaged in repeated antagonistic behaviour towards the Jewish community should be properly sanctioned. A joint statement with @JewishOttawa below ⬇️ https://t.co/nybzcUoLSw pic.twitter.com/uMQOuy8Lst
— CIJA (@CIJAinfo) November 21, 2022
“I would like to apologize unreservedly to the Jewish community for comments I made during an interview with the Ottawa Forum on Israel Palestine. I spoke in a way that perpetrated an antisemitic stereotype toward Jewish neighbors."
Ottawa Centre MPP Joel Harden
Naming, taking apart Canada-Israel links
In the 2021 interview with OFIP, Harden described Israel as a "deeply racist project" that segregated humiliated Palestinians based on ancestry, explained his approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and called for the disengagement of Canadian connections to Israel.
"There are so many links between Canada and the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands and we should be naming them," he said. "We should be working with our friends in Israel and Palestine and around the world to take those apart so people can live in peace."
According to OFIP interviewer Peter Larson, Harden had in the past been supportive of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanction movement (BDS) and has taken part in pro-Palestinian protests.
Harden told Larson his support for the Palestinian cause "comes from a commitment I have after knowing enough about Canadian history that Canadians have a unique obligation to challenge colonialism and to work to dismantle it because this country in which we're all part of is a settler-colonial state."
He continued, saying that "I think about the Palestinian people all the time because this is the longest-running military occupation in the world, and the silence from most Western politicians has been deafening."