Winnipeg South Centre debate focus on Jewish community

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This article was published 14/09/2021 (1858 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

As Liberal candidate Jim Carr and Conservative counterpart Joyce Bateman traded jabs at the Winnipeg South Centre virtual election debate Monday night, Julia Riddell of the NDP wondered if everyone could find ways to “work together.”

The debate focused on issues of concern to the Jewish community.

In his opening statement, Carr (who has held the riding since 2015) cited the importance of helping refugees, noting his ancestors came to Canada to escape persecution in Russia and he was beaten as a youth for being Jewish.

Bateman (riding MP 2011-15) followed by accusing the Liberals of being “irresponsible” for holding a federal election during a pandemic.

Riddell, a clinical psychologist, noted the rise in mental health issues during the COVID-19 pandemic and said if it taught her anything, it’s: “We can take on challenges only if we work together.”

Bateman said the Conservative party “stands with the Jewish community” and anti-Semitism is often “dressed up” as anti-Zionism on university campuses, where students call for boycotts of Israel. She said the Conservatives would strengthen laws requiring social media platforms to remove hate of all kinds and double funding for security at synagogues.

She accused Carr and the Liberals of “being silent” about anti-Semitism that arose during the recent fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

Carr replied if Bateman was “hearing silence” it was because she was “not listening. I have spoken out against all forms of racism and anti-Semitism using all platforms.”

He went on to accuse Bateman of trying to divide the Jewish community based on how people speak out against anti-Semitism.

Riddell said the rise in anti-Semitism was “deeply disturbing” and, “We all should be united in addressing it.” An NDP government would develop a national plan to combat anti-Semitism and “ensure the safety” of all marginalized groups, she said.

When asked to address what the moderator called “strong anti-Israel bias in the United Nations,” Bateman said no Canadian taxpayer dollars should go to anything at the United Nations that condones anti-Semitism or “demonizes” Israel or Jews.

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Bateman accused the Liberals of “shamefully” failing to curtail efforts to stop anti-Semitism at the agency. Carr said he was “deeply concerned” by her remarks.

That issue is “taken very seriously” by the Liberal government, he said, noting how it had stopped funding when the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East was accused of promoting anti-Israel messages.

“Canada doesn’t want to be associated with any relief agency that promotes hatred or anti-Semitism,” he said.

Reflecting on the barbed exchanges between Carr and Bateman, Riddell said her hope is members of Parliament can “work across parties” on these issues.

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John Longhurst
Faith columnist & reporter

John Longhurst has been writing for Winnipeg's faith pages since 2003. He also writes for Religion News Service in the U.S., and blogs about the media, marketing and communications at Making the News.

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