NDP MP Niki Ashton Scheduling A "Virtual Talk" With Jeremy Corbyn

36 posts / 0 new

Thu, 2021-03-04 09:31

Mighty Middle

Upcoming virtual “conversation” announced by MP Niki Ashton on social media Thursday between herself and Corbyn on March 20, 2021.

The event is meant to be a discussion on how to “build a strong progressive politics,” noting the “system is broken” and that the COVID crisis has shown how many people have “paid the price of neoliberal policies”.

“Instead of a bold progressive vision put forward by leaders like Jeremy Corbyn and Bernie Sanders, we have more of the same political leadership that places profit ahead of people,” the event page reads.

“We have right-wing parties that engage and promote racist policies that do harm to so many of our communities, or centre right parties that do the same, but with a smile.”

Fri, 2021-03-05 08:58

josh

Ashton being smeared.

https://twitter.com/SvendJRobinson/status/1367577001444306946?s=20

Fri, 2021-03-05 09:40

Michael Moriarity

Here's a good video discussion of the case.

Fri, 2021-03-05 10:05

NDPP

Jagmeet Singh must support the right to boycott Israel

https://twitter.com/mbueckert/status/1367460670384570370

"When Jagmeet Singh met with CIJA in 2019, he endorsed their smears against the Palestine Solidarity movement. In that meeting, CIJA raised the threat of the 'Corbynization' of the NDP as a reason why Singh should stop 'lending shelter' to BDS supporters."

And so having never done so he didn't anymore.

Fri, 2021-03-05 15:30

melovesproles

Have any MPs spoke out in solidarity with Corbyn and Ashton? Because the argument that the NDP's MPs are better than the party leadership is looking a lot weaker these days. It's a sad comment on our democracy that Canadians can't have a party with even the loosest ties to leftwing internationalism.

Fri, 2021-03-05 15:31

(Reply to #5) #6

kropotkin1951

melovesproles wrote:

Have any MPs spoke out in solidarity with Corbyn and Ashton? Because the argument that the NDP's MPs are better than the party leadership is looking a lot weaker these days. It's a sad comment on our democracy that Canadians can't have a party with even the loosest ties to leftwing internationalism.

They voted with the Conservatives to condemn our enemies, isn't that progressive enough for you?

Fri, 2021-03-05 16:02

(Reply to #6) #7

melovesproles

kropotkin1951 wrote:

melovesproles wrote:

Have any MPs spoke out in solidarity with Corbyn and Ashton? Because the argument that the NDP's MPs are better than the party leadership is looking a lot weaker these days. It's a sad comment on our democracy that Canadians can't have a party with even the loosest ties to leftwing internationalism.

They voted with the Conservatives to condemn our enemies, isn't that progressive enough for you?

Good point. What are the major foreign policy distinctions between the NDP and the Conservatives or Liberals? I feel like it is becoming a pretty short list.

Fri, 2021-03-05 16:09

kropotkin1951

I hate to be old school but all our politicians are back to the colonial mindset of Ready Aye Ready. The NDP in the '70's and '80's opposed NATO but with Alexa and then Jack is when the party veered away from the memberships policies from convention because they knew better how to win over centrist voters. Now they have little credibility on any foreign policy issues. This Ashton thing is reprehensible but lets not forget what happened to Libby Davies for standing in solidarity with Palestians.

Fri, 2021-03-05 17:36

(Reply to #8) #9

Ken Burch

kropotkin1951 wrote:

I hate to be old school but all our politicians are back to the colonial mindset of Ready Aye Ready. The NDP in the '70's and '80's opposed NATO but with Alexa and then Jack is when the party veered away from the memberships policies from convention because they knew better how to win over centrist voters. Now they have little credibility on any foreign policy issues. This Ashton thing is reprehensible but lets not forget what happened to Libby Davies for standing in solidarity with Palestians.

Also...when the heck did they EVER win over "centrist voters"? The 2011 breakthrough had nothing to do with winning centrist votes...it was solely because they were radical enough, at least on Quebec, to realize that the only way to win there was to connect with SOVEREIGNTIST voters- because, for one election and one election alone, they stopped dooming themselves to permanent wipeout in Quebec by parroting old-school, anglocentric centralist federalism- the one position that will never be popular in Quebec again, even if sovereigntism has gone into decline.

The breakthrough was down to the Sherbrooke Declaration and nothing else- and the party has withered in Quebec ever since as the smug, dismissive "you'll just have to get over this sovereigntist nonsense" types have once again dictated constitutional policy in the NDP.

The NDP leadership needs to face facts:

people who want a militaristic foreign policy, want unquestioning allegiance with Israel against the Palestinians, want the welfare state restricted or reduced, want First Nations types, Quebecers, students, peace activists, community organizers and those who stand with the poor kept at a distance are never GOING to vote NDP.

And it would be worthless to get their votes even if it were possible, because the only way the NDP could ever get such votes would be by agreeing to be as indistinguishable from the Liberals and the Conservatives as Starmer is now making the Labour Party from the Conservatives and the LibDems in the UK, and as Blair made them in the 1997 era.

That is, the only way the NDP can get those voters is to make themselves into a party that has no reason to exist, because there are two other major parties who already stand for what that would require the NDP to reduce itself to, and quite frankly the voters simply don't want or need a THIRD party of the status quo.

Mon, 2021-03-08 04:25

#10

NDPP

NDP attacks their own MP and smears Jeremy Corbyn (and vid)

https://twitter.com/TRNshow/status/1367539071866859521

"A spokesperson for NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Ashton never asked the party for permission before accepting to participate..."

"So the NDP attacks Niki and Svend for meeting with this fine man Corbyn but I'll bet they said bupkiss when Peggy Nash shared a pro-war platform with a Ukrainian facho linked to pogroms. Did the bien-pensants of the Broadbent Inst say anything about that?"

https://twitter.com/PariaSans/status/1368420291295272960

Nope.

Mon, 2021-03-08 06:59

(Reply to #10) #11

cco

NDPP wrote:

"A spokesperson for NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh said Ashton never asked the party for permission before accepting to participate..."

Which is a lie. She let the party know, though they've polished their denial, because any hint of association with anyone left of centre is now apparently toxic.

Tue, 2021-03-09 16:07

(Reply to #11) #12

Pondering

Ken Burch wrote:
Also...when the heck did they EVER win over "centrist voters"? The 2011 breakthrough had nothing to do with winning centrist votes...it was solely because they were radical enough, at least on Quebec, to realize that the only way to win there was to connect with SOVEREIGNTIST voters- because, for one election and one election alone, they stopped dooming themselves to permanent wipeout in Quebec by parroting old-school, anglocentric centralist federalism- the one position that will never be popular in Quebec again, even if sovereigntism has gone into decline.

The topic is dead in Quebec. Mulcair did not benefit from raising the topic. It is of no interest to most Quebecers because we are confident that we have sovereignty. We pick our immigrants. We pass laws without interference. We loudly rejected Energy East knowing the feds wouldn't dare try to force it through. When we needed the military to work in our nursing homes they came.

Ken Burch wrote:
people who want a militaristic foreign policy, want unquestioning allegiance with Israel against the Palestinians, want the welfare state restricted or reduced, want First Nations types, Quebecers, students, peace activists, community organizers and those who stand with the poor kept at a distance are never GOING to vote NDP.

You are not describing the centre or moderates you are describing the far right. Most Canadians don't care about foreign policy beyond the headlines. The Liberals have 73% approval in Quebec for their handling of Covid.

Ken Burch wrote:
That is, the only way the NDP can get those voters is to make themselves into a party that has no reason to exist, because there are two other major parties who already stand for what that would require the NDP to reduce itself to, and quite frankly the voters simply don't want or need a THIRD party of the status quo.

The NDP is not status quo and hewing to the centre has been a successful strategy provincially. The NDP is just not the radically progressive party you imagine it to be despite the sprinkling of Niki Ashton type progressives. The NDP is an establishment party. Mulcair could never have won the leadership were it not so. Same goes for Jagmeet. I think it's great that she will be talking with Corbyn but it doesn't signal anything about the NDP.

Tue, 2021-03-09 20:56

(Reply to #12) #13

melovesproles

Pondering wrote:

Most Canadians don't care about foreign policy beyond the headlines.

I think you are projecting your own attitude on to most Canadians. Most Canadians I know have fairly strong opinions on foreign policy and most polling data I’ve seen supports this.

Part 1: Out of Touch: Canada’s Foreign Policy Disconnected from Canadians’ Views

When asked if Canada should increase its support for Palestinian human rights, 40% of Canadians agreed, and 32% disagreed. The strongest support for this question came from BC (55% agree to 23% disagree), and the least support was in the Prairies (29% agree to 45% disagree). A majority of respondents who support the Liberals (55%) and NDP (73%) agreed that support for Palestinians should be increased, compared to only 11% Conservative supporters.

I could see why it would be comforting to think that the reason why there isn't any discernible difference in the foreign policy positions of any of our political parties is due only to a lack of 'caring.' But the reality is Canadians are not permitted to democratically determine foreign policy because we are a client state of the US. The excuse that Canadians “don’t care about foreign policy” is like the weak kid who refuses to attempt a chin-up because he “doesn’t care about them”. The reality is Canadians don’t get to determine their own foreign policy-pretending not to care doesn’t make it less pathetic.

Wed, 2021-03-10 12:29

(Reply to #13) #14

Pondering

melovesproles wrote:

I could see why it would be comforting to think that the reason why there isn't any discernible difference in the foreign policy positions of any of our political parties is due only to a lack of 'caring.' But the reality is Canadians are not permitted to democratically determine foreign policy because we are a client state of the US. The excuse that Canadians “don’t care about foreign policy” is like the weak kid who refuses to attempt a chin-up because he “doesn’t care about them”. The reality is Canadians don’t get to determine their own foreign policy-pretending not to care doesn’t make it less pathetic.

Or it's an honest opinion that turned out to be wrong? I am pleasantly surprised to find Canadians so well-informed.

I find most polls show Canadians to be generally unaware beyond the headlines. Regardless of their opinions on foreign affairs they will not vote on that issue. It will be all about covid handling and the recovery. If the Conservatives are bucking for an election they are fools. Best case scenario the Liberals win another minority.

The NDP's position has improved. 23% isn't a winning number but it is respectable considering the current political landscape particularly in Quebec. Any drop in support for the Liberals seems to have gone to the NDP. The Green party has so far failed to take the NDP voters they are directly targeting.

The NDP is only 5 points behind the Conservatives and I would argue that the NDP has lots of room for growth whereas the Conservatives do not.

I am not out west nor do I feel I have special insight into their politics but from what I gather many wouldn't be caught dead voting Liberals. BC has gone NDP and Alberta maybe ready to return there provincially. Some could turn from the Conservatives to the NDP federally.

I absolutely support Niki's plan for an online chat with Corbyn and for all MPs to speak their views openly. They should not require permission from the party. The Conservative expulsion of Sloan has galvanized the social conservatives who want their views expressed in parliament. The "deal" with O'Toole was that he personally was pro-choice and pro-LGBTQ but MPs would be free to express the social conservative message on matters of social conscience. They are now up in arms over Sloan's expulsion and are campaigning to have as many delegates as possible at the next convention.

I do wish the NDP would take a bolder stance on Palestine I'm just cynical.

Wed, 2021-03-10 12:49

#15

Michael Moriarity

I received a fund raising phone call from the federal NDP yesterday. I told the caller that I was very unhappy with the party's attitude to Palestinian rights, as exemplified most recently in the reprimanding of Niki Ashton for planning a virtual meeting with Jeremy Corbyn because of utterly false anti-semitism smears against him. I said that I would not be giving another cent to the party until they take a less hostile attitude to Palestinian rights. The unlucky woman who called me said that she understood my position, and would pass it along to her boss.

Wed, 2021-03-10 13:06

#16

voice of the damned

It's quite possible that a) Canadians do disagree with their nations' foreign-policy when asked about it in polls, but that b) the issue is not enough of a priority for them to change the way they vote.

Opinion polls showed for many years(and possibly still do) that most Canadians favour the death-penalty. But no government was ever voted out because they refused to reinstate the noose. The closest it came to being an issue was in 1984, when Mulroney in the campaign promised a free-vote, and then held one after getting elected. He spoke against hanging during the debate, the bill was defeated, and that was the end of it. In '88 the main issue was free-trade, and the more militantly pro-hanging Reformers got crushed by the electoral stampede toward the Tories.

IOW Mulroney flipped the middle finger to public opinion on capital punishment, and the public just shrugged it off. As was their right.

Wed, 2021-03-10 13:16

#17

NDPP

Good for you Michael. This is what is necessary to force the NDP to change. I can assure you Canada's Israel lobby is massively organized and motivated to push MPs and political parties to support continuing Apartheid state oppression if you don't.

Wed, 2021-03-10 19:56

#18

melovesproles

It's quite possible that a) Canadians do disagree with their nations' foreign-policy when asked about it in polls, but that b) the issue is not enough of a priority for them to change the way they vote.

Even if Canadians wanted to change their vote based on foreign policy, who could they vote for? There is almost no real difference in any of the parties' foreign policy positions and that includes fringe parties like the Greens. The only time in my lifetime where our political parties were not in lock-step with US foreign policy was with the Iraq War and that was a hugely popular position that all parties had to at least pretend to adopt. Of course we know from leaked cables that at the same time the Liberals were assuring the US that their hands were tied by domestic opinion and that they would offer Air Carriers and any other assistance they could get away with.

Weston: Canada offered to aid Iraq invasion: WikiLeaks

Chrétien's apparent refusal to back the Bush administration's invasion, purportedly launched to seize weapons of mass destruction possessed by Iraqi ruler Saddam Hussein (which were never found), was hugely popular in Canada, widely hailed as nothing less than a defining moment of national sovereignty.

But even as Chrétien told the Commons that Canada wouldn't participate in Operation Iraqi Freedom, Canadian diplomats were secretly telling their U.S. counterparts something entirely different.

[snip]

According to the U.S. account, Wright "emphasized" that contrary to public statements by the prime minister, Canadian naval and air forces could be "discreetly" put to use during the pending U.S.-led assault on Iraq and its aftermath.

At that time, Canada had warships, aircraft and over 1,200 naval personnel already in the Strait of Hormuz at the mouth of the Persian Gulf, intercepting potential militant vessels and providing safe escort to other ships as part of Operation Enduring Freedom, the post-Sept. 11, 2001, multinational war on terrorism.

There would be relatively little outside pressure on Canada if it reinstated the Death Penalty-certainly nothing like what would happen if we had a government that decided to develop an independent foreign policy.

Canadians care as much about foreign policy as citizens of other countries that get to determine their own foreign policies. I've worked in several interational workplaces and Canadians are not any more shy than other nationalities about voicing their opinions on foreign policy and international relations. The problem is not apathy. It's impotence.

Thu, 2021-03-11 14:32

#19

Mobo2000

The above really resonated with me, and matches my experience. Well said. It's understandable to stop paying attention to things you feel you can't change. The self help books have a mantra about it.

Foreign policy and economic policy need to be brought under democratic control, here and in the US. An anti-war, anti-empire, noninterventionist foreign policy is my top issue as a voter, has been for a long time, and I am keenly feeling the lack of options now.

Thu, 2021-03-11 16:20

(Reply to #19) #20

kropotkin1951

Mobo2000 wrote:

Foreign policy and economic policy need to be brought under democratic control, here and in the US. An anti-war, anti-empire, noninterventionist foreign policy is my top issue as a voter, has been for a long time, and I am keenly feeling the lack of options now.

I agree completely with this. I was talking to the staff at my MP's office about another matter and I praised Gord for his many good initiatives but made it clear that voting to condemn China and shun Ashton was the reason that while I vote for an NDP MP I will not rejoin the party nor send them money. I hope I was polite enough with the amiable young staffer I was talking to.

Thu, 2021-03-11 18:10

#21

NDPP

Engler: Israel lobby continues undercutting the left with attacks on progressive internationalism

https://buff.ly/3l2lR9j

"...CIJA's release is an explicit effort to marginalize the left within the NDP in the lead-up to the party's April convention, which will deal with widely-backed resolutions in favour of Palestinian rights and against the IHRA definition of antisemitism.

CIJA's release could also be read as a call on the NDP leadership to purge the left of the party. Perhaps the official advocacy of Canada's Jewish federations feels emboldened enough to interfere in internal NDP affairs by recent actions of the party leadership..."

No doubt.

Thu, 2021-03-11 19:09

#22

NDPP

Canada's Complicity in the Oppression of Palestinians (and vid)

https://twitter.com/dimitrilascaris/status/1369456440251932674

"On March 7, the Palestinian Youth Movement hosted a talk about the many ways in which Canada's government supports the oppression of Palestinians. I was joined in the discussion by NDP MP Niki Ashton and Sheryl Nestel of IJV. You can watch the event here..."

Fri, 2021-03-12 17:06

#23

Pondering

The knife of "won't vote based on that issue" cuts two ways. It means this is an area where the NDP could take a more progressive stance and not lose votes. It follows that the reason they aren't doing it is money or a don't rock the boat attitude. Both say volumes about the NDP being little different that the Liberals. The Liberals go just far enough left on social issues to appear as progressive as the NDP, or even more so, while the NDP goes just far enough left to claim to be the progressive party. The Conservatives go just far enough left to appear centrist. The Greens are trying to go just far enough left to take votes from the NDP.

It seems to me the NDP needs to differenciate itself from the Greens before the next election. Foreign policy would be one way to do it.

Fri, 2021-03-12 18:40

#24

Ken Burch

The NDP can use an argument for an antimilitarist- not necessarily pacifist, but a clearly LESS martial role in the world- foreign policy by demonstrating that pulling back from support of U.S. imperialism would free up resources to deal with the problems Canadians face at home.

And they can cut heavily into the Green vote in doing so, as it will be incredibly easy to demonstrate that "green values" and militarism simply cannot co-exist: there can never be such a thing as environmentally-friendly invasions of other countries and it goes without saying that Canada will never fight a war anywhere in the name of climate justice or sustainable energy systems.

Fri, 2021-03-12 20:01

#25

laine lowe laine lowe's picture

I agree with both of you, Pondering and Ken. When I first helped out on NDP election campaigns (federal, provincial and municipal) back in the 80s, being pro-Palestinian was mostly the default from what I could tell (and what I appreciated because the other parties were not). Also, there was a strong commitment to demilitarization and withdrawing from NATO and foreign military engagement that was not clearly a humanitarian intervention.

Sat, 2021-03-13 00:25

#26

NDPP

While too many Canadians were 'pretending not to see Israeli violence,' things have unfortunately much changed. And Israel has gotten to our politicians before us.

"6 years ago my mom was shot by an Israeli sniper. She photographed a soldier aiming at her, saw medics running and looked down to see blood. Chrystia Freeland's callous response is in perfect line with Canada's racist policy of pretending not to see Israeli violence, even as blood spills."

https://twitter.com/rananazzalh/status/1370223556118904832

"Canadians from all walks of life can hold municipal leaders to account using the following 'checklist'. Does your mayor commit to the following:

https://www.bnaibrith.ca/a-challenge-to-canadas-mayors-what-are-you-doin...

Combating the antisemitic BDS movement, pursuant to motions, for example in both Canada's House of Commons and the Ontario Legislative Assembly.
Creating a legal framework at the municipal level to prevent BDS actions taking place on municipal property and ensuring that such activities do not receive public funding.
Direct municipal procurement agencies to not engage with businesses that endorse or operate based on discriminatory BDS practices
Publicly condemn antisemitism in all its forms including...denying the Jewish people's right to self-determination or the Jewish state's right to exist.."

Israel's KKK on Way to Government

https://twitter.com/AsaWinstanley/status/1370425484643815424

Apartheid Israel is an enemy that ruthlessly fights to win by any means necessary. Canadian progressives must step up their game if they wish to defeat it. Forcing a purportedly progressive left NDP to take a position progressives want instead of what Israel wants is a good place to start.

Jagmeet Singh Stop Supporting Apartheid Israel!

[email protected]

Sat, 2021-03-13 01:03

#27

NDPP

Or expect more evil collaborations and complicity with Israel in projects like this:

"More than 4,000 Canadians have asked Omar Alghabra to cancel the $36 m drone contract with Elbit Systems, Israel's largest weapons company! Sign here to join your voice"

https://twitter.com/CJPME/status/1370426134345699336

https://twitter.com/QudsNen/status/1370098157263200257

Sun, 2021-03-14 18:26

(Reply to #27) #28

Pondering

Ken Burch wrote:

The NDP can use an argument for an antimilitarist- not necessarily pacifist, but a clearly LESS martial role in the world- foreign policy by demonstrating that pulling back from support of U.S. imperialism would free up resources to deal with the problems Canadians face at home.

And they can cut heavily into the Green vote in doing so, as it will be incredibly easy to demonstrate that "green values" and militarism simply cannot co-exist: there can never be such a thing as environmentally-friendly invasions of other countries and it goes without saying that Canada will never fight a war anywhere in the name of climate justice or sustainable energy systems.

Both excellent points and both issues, economics and the environment are top concerns for Canadians. The F35 has proven to be a disaster. The NDP should be saying that we shouldn't let other countries dictate what Canada spends on military versus the needs of Canadians. (2%)

Sun, 2021-03-14 23:24

#29

NDPP

Niki Ashton has no reason to apologize for meeting with Jeremy Corbyn

https://jacobinmag.com/2021/03/niki-ashton-canada-ndp-jeremy-corbyn-anti...

"Rick Smith of the Broadbent Institute - a social-democratic think-tank with longstanding ties to the NDP - actually joined in with the CIJA dog pile..."

A longstanding problem within what one US socialist notable more or less accurately refers to as 'the Canadian Zionist left'.

Mon, 2021-03-15 16:12

#30

NDPP

The Global System of Zionism and the Palestinian Struggle for Self-Determination (vid)

https://www.blackagendareport.com/global-significance-zionism-and-palest...

Featuring Ali Abunimah of Electronic Intifada

Tue, 2021-03-16 13:07

#31

NDPP

Letter to Jagmeet Singh: Take a Stand

https://twitter.com/mbueckert/status/1371864701945151490

"IHRA will continue to be used to attack NDP MPs, policies and party members if they speak out for Palestinian human rights. Jagmeet Singh should endorse the NO IHRA resolution, which has been endorsed by over 50 riding associations. Read more:

No to IHRA Jagmeet!

[email protected]

STOP SUPPORTING APARTHEID ISRAEL!

'It's like uprooting me...'

https://twitter.com/Louis_Allday/status/1371553891997863940

Wed, 2021-03-17 20:59

#32

NDPP

Farah Nabulsi: Oceans of Injustice (and vid)

http://www.oceansofinjustice.com

"For decades a gross injustice has been perpetuated against an entire people. Through consumption of news media, we think we understand what they are going through. But we have no idea..."

Free Palestine!

Wed, 2021-03-24 04:42

#33

NDPP

Canadian Jewish News: MP Niki Ashton's 'Despicable Decision'

https://www.facebook.com/TheCJN/posts/4547750761908388

https://twitter.com/mbueckert/status/1374380204269838340/photo/1

"Niki Ashton's despicable decision to host an online event with well-known British anti-Semite Jeremy Corbyn is a startling moment for Canada's Jewish community - and for the NDP as well. Ashton, an NDP member of Parliament, has long taken positions that would disqualify her from sitting in other caucuses.

Among many other outrages, she opposes a return to democracy in Venezuela, which is ruled by an accused narco-terrorist who moonlights as a leftist populist. And of course, her record is also predictably littered with the tiresome anti-Israel sentiment of the woke left. But Ashton is not some student radical taping Socialist Worker pamphlets on lamposts.

She is a member of Parliament. Think about that: a currently elected member of an opposition party. That's precisely what Corbyn was before he unexpectedly became Labour leader - and Ashton has already had a chequered record on anti-Semitism, is gleefully teaming up with one of the world's most notorious anti-Semites.

This is, therefore, a startling moment. Not since Mackenzie King, whose government slammed the doors shut on Jewish refugees desperately escaping Hitler's Europe, has a Canadian parliamentarian so overtly embraced anti-Semitism. Racist purity drove King, while radical purity drives Ashton. Unlike King, you could dismiss Ashton as a parliamentarian without power. And while it's true that Parliament's fourth largest party is low in the polls, it's also true that the federal Liberals already rely on the NDP to prop up its minority government. Moreover, we should take little comfort from the fact that Ashton is a radical, peripheral, embarrassing member of an opposition party. That's precisely what Corbyn was before he unexpectedly became Labour leader - and Ashton has already taken a run at her party's leadership.

So Canadian Jews now face the prospect of a young, ambitious member of Parliament partnering with the very face of global, leftist anti-Semitism. Alarm bells should ring in our community. Those bells should also ring for the NDP. Down in the polls, the NDP must make deep changes to return to national relevance. It's therefore doubly telling that Ashton would return to Corbyn for advice. Corbyn took power over the Labour Party right when Labour ought to have taken power over Britain - but Corbyn, then led his party into political calamity. Corbyn is, by any standard, an abject failure of a politician.

This may be lost on Ashton, a politician so ethical that she quietly traveled to Greece - twice - while the rest of us were so locked down that we could not even bury our dead with dignity. But this should not be lost on the NDP, Canada's social democratic party should recognize that following Ashton and Corbyn means descending into a political oblivion - though in fairness to Corbyn, he never gallivanted halfway across the globe during a pandemic.

The NDP has long been met with suspicion among large swaths of Canada's Jewish community, a community repeatedly hurt by anti-Semitic, NDP activists. We remember the loathsome intolerance and anti-Semitism espoused not that long ago by Svend Robinson, who promoted bogus conspiracy theories claiming Israeli war crimes in Jenin, and Libby Davies, who asserted that Israeli occupation began in 1948. Both loom in the shadows, propping up Ashton.

Robinson and Davies are also advocating for the NDP to oppose the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism at the upcoming NDP policy conference. This caused a party spokesperson to pledge that, 'the NDP will always stand up against antisemitism.' And yet, Ashton hosted her tete-a-tete with Corbyn the very next day, on a Shabat afternoon no less. In other words, Ashton is driving a giant wedge not into the Jewish community, but into her party. The NDP therefore faces a choice between avoiding the catastrophe of the UK Labour Party or embracing it.

For the viability of both Canada's Jewish community and of the New Democratic Party, Niki Ashton cannot be allowed to become Canada's Jeremy Corbyn - for when it comes to Corbyn acolytes in Canada, none really is too many."

Stop Supporting Canadian Zionism and Israeli Apartheid and Stop Those Who Do.

Wed, 2021-03-24 04:58

#34

NDPP

UJA: Toronto - The Most Zionist Community in the World

https://jewishtoronto.com/news-media/toronto-the-most-zionist-community-...

"Israel is the heart and soul of Canadian Jewry in general and of the Toronto community in particular, and in fact is the strongest source of unity among Canadian Jews - and a central element in Jewish identity here.

Some 392,000 Jews now live in Canada, the fourth largest community in the world after Israel, the United States and France, but some see it as the most Zionist community outside of Israel. The Jewish community in Canada is more conservative and sympathetic to Israel than the US. '

A recent study by York University and the University of Toronto found that Jews in Canada had a stronger connection to Israel than American Jewry: 79% of Canadian Jews feel a very strong or strong connection to Israel, compared to 69% of American Jews. Only 11% don't feel connected to Israel compared to 27% in the US. 79% of Canadian Jews visited Israel compared to 43% of American Jews.

This is a strong and well established community with great influence in Canada in all areas - political, economic, media, academic and more..."

Wed, 2021-03-24 05:29

#35

NDPP

Question about international justice in Palestine

https://twitter.com/nikiashton/status/13733527885294148

"Palestinians should not be living under occupation. The settlement policy must end. The annexation must end."

Canadian Zionism and its support for Apartheid Israel must end. Israeli interference in our politics and over our politicians must end. If they don't support an end to occupation DON'T VOTE FOR THEM!

Wed, 2021-03-24 13:31

(Reply to #35) #36

kropotkin1951

NDPP wrote:

Canadian Jewish News: MP Niki Ashton's 'Despicable Decision'

The NDP has long been met with suspicion among large swaths of Canada's Jewish community, a community repeatedly hurt by anti-Semitic, NDP activists. We remember the loathsome intolerance and anti-Semitism espoused not that long ago by Svend Robinson, who promoted bogus conspiracy theories claiming Israeli war crimes in Jenin, and Libby Davies, who asserted that Israeli occupation began in 1948. Both loom in the shadows, propping up Ashton.

Robinson and Davies are also advocating for the NDP to oppose the IHRA definition of anti-Semitism at the upcoming NDP policy conference. This caused a party spokesperson to pledge that, 'the NDP will always stand up against antisemitism.' And yet, Ashton hosted her tete-a-tete with Corbyn the very next day, on a Shabat afternoon no less. In other words, Ashton is driving a giant wedge not into the Jewish community, but into her party. The NDP therefore faces a choice between avoiding the catastrophe of the UK Labour Party or embracing it.

For the viability of both Canada's Jewish community and of the New Democratic Party, Niki Ashton cannot be allowed to become Canada's Jeremy Corbyn - for when it comes to Corbyn acolytes in Canada, none really is too many."

I remember what the central party did to Libby in particular. This theocratic state has some very nasty Canadians supporting it who will slander anyone who dares question Israel's inhuman treatment of the people it has enslaved in occupied territories. The NDP central office will bow before them. Of course the idea that any of the members of this theocracy loving group would be voting for the NDP is absurd. It seems to me from the cheap seats that any people of the Jewish faith and/or ethnicity who might typically support the NDP would not support this group's push to silence all criticism of Israel.