A Victoria BC city councillor who wrote a letter that questioned Israeli accusations against Hamas, is being defended by her mayor despite facing mounting calls for her resignation.Victoria councillor Susan Kim was one of two Canadian politicians who signed an online letter to Members of Parliament that said Israel was “terrorist” and guilty of “apartheid and occupation.” The other was former NDP, now independent, Hamilton Center MPP Sarah Jama.“We, the undersigned, residing in so-called Canada, urge Canadian political leaders to end their complicity in the ongoing massacres and genocide in Gaza, Occupied Palestine,” the letter said.“You have called on Canada to urge for an ‘immediate ceasefire’ in the face of unimaginable devastation. Yet, all Canadian political parties dehumanize Palestinians, facilitating Israeli-led genocide against them. If you truly value Palestinian life and international law, we thus call on you to resign now.”The letter, subsequently signed by 2,100 people online, told MPs they were all “complicit in Israel’s killing of more than 5,000 Palestinians in Gaza thus far” and was skeptical of Israeli claims.“The Liberal government argued ‘with a high degree of confidence that Israel did not strike the [Al Ahli] hospital’, even after the Anglican Church that owns the hospital and Doctors Without Borders concluded otherwise,” the letter complained.“Meanwhile, Jagmeet Singh repeated the unverified accusation that Palestinians were guilty of sexual violence, refused to end his party’s deal with the Liberals and revoked the passes of four delegates who joined a pro-Palestine rally at the NDP Convention.”Former Victoria council candidate Janice Williams launched an online petition against Kim, who also serves on the City of Victoria Youth Council, the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority Board, the Greater Victoria Public Library Board, the Regional Water Supply Commission and the Victoria Citizen’s Assembly Council Committee.“Imagine being a Jewish member of our community and having to rely on Ms. Kim as an elected representative. Would you feel you could bring your concerns forward to Ms. Kim and be free from prejudice? Would you feel as though she’d represent your interest, equally to the interests of others in our community? Would you be able to trust Ms. Kim?” the petition asked.The petition, which now has 9,500 signatories, called on Kim to apologize and resign. Petitioners also called on Victoria City Council to censure Kim, remove her from board positions, and forbid her from wearing a keffiyeh in chambers. A keffiyeh is a patterned scarf, headband or belt and is a symbol of Palestinian pride, nationhood and resistance.BC United Party leader Kevin Falcon also called for Kim’s resignation. Colwood Coun. Ian Ward, who sits on the library board with Kim, said he contemplated his own resignation before being associated with Kim.“It’s one thing to advocate for peace and a ceasefire and humanity. It’s another to sort of pin it all on one side, question their credibility, [and] quote literal terrorist demands,” Ward said of the letter.“We’ll be at opposite ends of the table, that’s for sure,” he said regarding the upcoming board meeting in December.In a statement on Monday, Kim pledged to remain on council.“I am sorry for how this matter has pulled me away from the work of this city,” Kim said. “I will continue to serve out the rest of my term to the best of my abilities on behalf of those who have entrusted me with this privilege.”When asked by reporters to comment, Victoria mayor Marianne Alto said Kim could speak for herself. Alto expressed uncertainty on whether Israelis had suffered sexual violence from Hamas.“I don’t have enough information to be able to answer that in an informed way. I think it would be actually quite irresponsible for me to comment on that without being more informed,” Alto said.The mayor also read a prepared statement that called ongoing antisemitism and Islamophobia “appalling.” Stephen Andrew, who lost to Alto in the city election, called her comments "disgraceful" in a Post on Twitter ("X") which reads as follows: "I stayed away from criticism of @CityOfVictoria Mayor Marianne Alto after losing the election."
