Councillor urges Winnipeg mayor to rescind civic award given to Food Fare owner
Ramsey Zeid says he's seeking legal advice about Sherri Rollins' letter to the mayor
City police are investigating a video circulating online regarding the Israel-Hamas war which has prompted a Winnipeg city councillor to call for a civic award to be taken away from a local businessman.
Coun. Sherri Rollins wrote an open letter to Mayor Scott Gillingham on Sunday about Ramsey Zeid.
Zeid, a co-owner of Winnipeg's Food Fare grocery stores and president of the Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba (CPAM), accepted a Mayor's Business Improvement Zone Award on May 15.
The award was for the Maryland Food Fare's help with community events in the West Broadway area.
"I urge you to rescind this award," Rollins wrote in the letter.
Rollins said The Canadian Palestinian Association of Manitoba (CPAM) recently re-posted a video in their Instagram Stories that talks about actions that Palestinian people could take to advocate for their cause.
The Jewish Federation of Winnipeg provided a screenshot of the post, which appears to show that CPAM shared the video in question from its account.
The video features a masked figure in a Palestinian keffiyeh scarf calling for non-peaceful action around the globe to "move the needle" and "eventually destroy the status quo."
It calls Israel a terrorist foreign entity and refers to "demonic Zionists." A Zionist refers to someone who supports the idea of a Jewish national homeland in Israel.
The video then refers to how a group in its infancy is setting up in select cities and are planning to make this global "on a massive scale."
It calls for at least one person in every city to lead teams of non-peaceful disruptors.
Rollins called the posts "thinly veiled calls to violence" and said they are "not harmless expressions of opinion."
In an email to CBC News, Zeid said he is seeking legal advice about what Rollins wrote to the mayor and, as such, can't comment further.
As for the award, he said he's honoured because it reflects that "I've always tried, to the best of my abilities, to help those who need it, especially in a time of rising poverty here affecting my fellow Winnipeggers."
Awards reception
Gilligham wasn't at the awards reception — deputy Mayor Markus Chambers filled in — but repeatedly told media on Monday that Food Fare, not Zeid, was the recipient.
"The award was given to a business, not an individual, and the nomination was put forward by the West Broadway Biz, and Coun. Rollins sits on that board," Gillingham said.
If Rollins has a problem with the nomination, she should talk to her fellow board members and executive, he added.
In an interview on Monday, Rollins said Gillingham needs to take his own accountability for an award that comes from his office.
Free speech is important but "Words matter. And that's why I think it is really appropriate for a rescinding of this award," she said.
"I do want to see people learn, people understand the harm, and as council we have a role to play on convening peace," she said.
In her letter, Rollins cited another post, made earlier this year by an Instagram account called Zionists in Winnipeg, which featured her image.
An image of Gillingham was posted by the same account.
Rollins pointed to the "real-world consequences" specifically the fatal shooting last week of couple Sarah Milgram and Yaron Lischinsky in Washington, D.C., as they were leaving the Capital Jewish Museum where they attended an event promoting peace in the Middle East.
Washington Metropolitan Police chief Pamela Smith has said the shooter was chanting "Free Palestine, free Palestine" as he was being taken into custody.
Gillingham said Monday morning he had not yet spoken to Rollins about her concern.
"I sat across the table from her on Saturday night at an event. She said nothing of this. And then Sunday I get a letter from her," he said.
"I think, as a matter of good faith, she could have raised it Saturday night, pulled me aside at the event we were at, sitting across the table breaking bread together."
As for the video, Gillingham has seen it and calls it concerning. It has been forwarded to the police, he added.
A spokesperson for the Winnipeg Police Service confirmed it is investigating the video being circulated "calling for global violent intifada," and that those types of investigation are complicated and will take time.
"There is no room for antisemitism in this city, I've been clear on that before," Gillingham said.
"There's no room for the rhetoric that would incite antisemitism or Islamophobia, for that matter as well."
With files from Josh Crabb