Hamilton NDP MPP apologizes after comments about Israel-Hamas conflict

Hamilton Centre NDP MPP Sarah Jama is apologizing after making a statement about the conflict between Hamas and Israel in which she voiced her support for the people of Gaza. 

Her apology comes after Ontario Premier Doug Ford called for Jama's resignation and Ontario NDP leader Marit Stiles called for her to retract the remarks.

"I heard many voices yesterday raising concern about my post," she wrote in a statement shared by the Ontario NDP on Wednesday. "I hear them - and above all, I understand the pain that many Jewish and Israeli Canadians, including my own constituents, must be feeling. I apologize."

She also said she condemns "terrorism by Hamas" and believes "violence against civilians is never justified and there is no military solution to this conflict." 

In her initial social media post on Tuesday, Jama said "the news coming out of Israel and Palestine is deeply concerning" and called for an immediate ceasefire, as well as an "end to all occupation of Palestinian land." 

Her original statement focused largely on the Palestinian territories, saying "violence and retaliation rooted in settler colonialism have taken the lives of far too many innocent people." 

She did not directly mention the Hamas attacks that have killed over 1,000 Israeli civilians and seen around 150 people taken hostage.

"My heart genuinely goes out to all those impacted by this on-going violence," she wrote.

At least 900 Palestinians have also been killed since the weekend, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. Thousands of people have been wounded on both sides.

Stiles initially said Jama's statement didn't align with the party's position. After Jama's apology, Stiles indicated Jama wouldn't be removed from caucus.

"In working with MPP Jama over the last 24 hours, I understand the personal impact that is having on her as someone with Palestinian family members," Stiles said in a statement. "She is not alone in this experience. At the same time I have made it clear that all members of our caucus condemn Hamas' terror attacks ... MPP Jama has reaffirmed her commitment to this." 

How Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel unfolded

1 year ago

Duration 7:42

Israel has declared war with Hamas after the Palestinian militant group launched a surprise attack that killed hundreds. The National breaks down how Hamas went seemingly undetected by Israeli intelligence for months and days leading up to the attack and what could happen next.

The New Democrats said the attacks by Hamas are unjustifiable and Israel's response attack on Gaza has caught civilians in "a horrific cycle of violence." 

"Like the Israeli civilians killed over the last few days, Gazans are victims of Hamas' brutality," its position read. 

The initial post by the Hamilton MPP has become a flashpoint in a Canada-wide debate on the conflict. 

Ford called for Jama's resignation on Wednesday, saying he was doing what "Ms. Stiles won't" and that Jama's "views do not represent Ontario. They have no place in the legislature, and they have no place in this province." 

Statement prompts both anger and support 

Organizations like the Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) and the Canada-based Legal Centre for Palestine (LCPal) have voiced their support for Jama and said the NDP's initial response to her was a form of censorship.

"We thank [Jama] for insisting on an immediate ceasefire AND calling for an end to the oppressive structures of occupation and apartheid," said CJPME on X, formerly known as Twitter. 

"We reject the repeated political attacks on her, which are designed to silence those who recognize the value of Palestinian lives." 

A 2022 Amnesty International report formally accused the Israeli government of building an apartheid state in its occupied territories, but Canada has said it rejects the view that "Israel's actions constitute apartheid."

Samira Sayed-Rahman, a former student at McMaster University in Hamilton who now works with the International Rescue Committee in Kabul, wrote about Jama on X, saying: "It takes a special kind of conviction to use your position and speak in contradiction with your party and the bigger political apparatus in Canada whilst remaining firm in your principles."

Also on X, the leader of the Green Party of Quebec, Alex Tyrrell, called Jama's initial statement "the strongest peace oriented statement I have seen on this round of violence by any other provincial or federal politician."

But the statement has also been strongly condemned.

The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre decried Jama's statement that "willfully ignored the brutality waged against Israeli civilians by Hamas terrorists."  

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs called for her removal from caucus and said her comments were "heinous." 

Some of the NDP's political opponents also called for Jama to be kicked out, including interim Ontario Liberal Party Leader John Fraser.  

"There is only one option: kick her out of the Official Opposition caucus for appeasing terrorism," said PC MPP Lisa MacLeod. 

Jama came under fire during the Hamilton Centre byelection campaign earlier this year. B'nai B'rith Canada, a Jewish advocacy organization, called for the NDP to drop Jama as a candidate for past criticism of Israel's treatment of Palestinians. Jama said then she was "against antisemitism in all of its forms," but apologized for making "harmful" comments in the past.