It’s “painful” to be called a Jew, says Green Party leader.Annamie Paul..Blacklock’s Reporter says Paul described a tweet by a Liberal candidate in June as online hate..“It happens all too often,” said Paul, the only Jewish party leader at this week’s campaign debates..“A lot of that is directed at me. I have been constantly attacked, I mean on a daily basis, for my Jewish identity but also as a woman and also a person of colour.”.Irene Walker, the Liberal candidate in Sturgeon River-Parkland, Alta., tweeted the remark June 18, more than two months before the Party acclaimed her in the riding..Asked by a Twitter follower, “I really don’t know enough about the Green Party and Annamie drama to have an opinion, but what are your thoughts on it?” Walker replied: “Personally I think she has done a great disservice to women, people who are not white and Jews.”.The Liberal Party said Walker, a retired nurse, had apologized but Paul said she did not receive one..“It’s incredibly painful. It’s incredibly damaging,” she told reporters..“I hope everyone will call out hate when they see it because the silence clearly emboldens hate. I hope we will try to work towards a society where people from diverse backgrounds can feel welcome and included in politics, because it is still way too hard. It still asks too much of people seeking to serve.. PAUL: It’s hate speech to be called a Jew .“These kinds of comments, whether from a Liberal candidate or otherwise, are really just an ongoing background theme ever since I entered politics, but certainly during this election. I’m alarmed to know someone who was vetted by the Liberal Party was able to tweet something like this and was still approved as a candidate.”.Paul earlier told the Times Of Israel she converted to Judaism, her husband’s faith, more than 20 years ago and educated both her sons at Jewish day schools..Conservatives last won the Sturgeon River-Parkland riding with 78% of the vote. Walker was one of 22 names acclaimed by the Liberals in August in Alberta where they have not won a majority of seats in Alberta since 1911.
