Transport Minister Omar Alghabra yesterday said he could not explain how a reputed anti-Semite was invited to a Parliament Hill reception he attended with more than 100 others..Alghabra and the Liberal MP who hosted the event said no background checks were conducted, according to Blacklock's Reporter..“It’s a community event,” Alghabra told reporters. “There are dozens and dozens of people from the community there.”.A representative of the Arabic-language newspaper Al Meshwar Media of Mississauga, ON. attended the November 29 reception of the Canada-Palestine Parliamentary Friendship Group. Advocates including the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs distributed translated summaries of Meshwar articles that called the Holocaust a hoax and praised the killing of Jews..“Who prepared the invitation list?” asked a reporter..“I don’t know,” replied Alghabra. “I’m not even a member of the Friendship Association. I attended, as I do with many other events on the Hill.”.“To be honest, I don’t want to hold back myself from attending events because I’m worried who is there,” said Alghabra. “I want to be accessible. I want to be present. I want to build bridges with communities and speak to them and hear them out. But when I know that I’ve encountered someone who has hateful views I will always condemn those views.”.B’nai Brith Canada yesterday described Meshwar Media as a “virulently anti-Semitic” newspaper that “published many offensive and hateful articles” about Jews..“The paper engages in regular Holocaust denial including blaming Jews for the genocide,” Michael Mostyn, CEO of B’nai Brith, said in a statement..Liberal MP Salma Zahid (Scarborough Centre, ON.), chair of the Friendship Group, said in a statement background checks were not done on all guests..“Nearly 150 people attended,” said Zahid. “We are not able to search the history of every attendee. I have long been a voice against anti-Semitism.”.The Meshawar newspaper last year received a $2,000 grant from the Department of Canadian Heritage. Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said November 2 the grant was under review..Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman (Thornhill, ON.) yesterday expressed astonishment over the incident..“There was no apology and no condemnation,” Lantsman told the House of Commons..“Members of the Canadian government should not be meeting with Holocaust deniers and Hamas sympathizers who praise the murder of children,” said Lantsman. “They invited him and they got caught. Will the minister of Transport have the courage to stand up on his feet in this House and apologize?”.“As Members of Parliament we attend events everywhere,” replied Minister Alghabra. “We are accessible to our community members and there is always a risk of us meeting unsavoury individuals.”
Transport Minister Omar Alghabra yesterday said he could not explain how a reputed anti-Semite was invited to a Parliament Hill reception he attended with more than 100 others..Alghabra and the Liberal MP who hosted the event said no background checks were conducted, according to Blacklock's Reporter..“It’s a community event,” Alghabra told reporters. “There are dozens and dozens of people from the community there.”.A representative of the Arabic-language newspaper Al Meshwar Media of Mississauga, ON. attended the November 29 reception of the Canada-Palestine Parliamentary Friendship Group. Advocates including the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs distributed translated summaries of Meshwar articles that called the Holocaust a hoax and praised the killing of Jews..“Who prepared the invitation list?” asked a reporter..“I don’t know,” replied Alghabra. “I’m not even a member of the Friendship Association. I attended, as I do with many other events on the Hill.”.“To be honest, I don’t want to hold back myself from attending events because I’m worried who is there,” said Alghabra. “I want to be accessible. I want to be present. I want to build bridges with communities and speak to them and hear them out. But when I know that I’ve encountered someone who has hateful views I will always condemn those views.”.B’nai Brith Canada yesterday described Meshwar Media as a “virulently anti-Semitic” newspaper that “published many offensive and hateful articles” about Jews..“The paper engages in regular Holocaust denial including blaming Jews for the genocide,” Michael Mostyn, CEO of B’nai Brith, said in a statement..Liberal MP Salma Zahid (Scarborough Centre, ON.), chair of the Friendship Group, said in a statement background checks were not done on all guests..“Nearly 150 people attended,” said Zahid. “We are not able to search the history of every attendee. I have long been a voice against anti-Semitism.”.The Meshawar newspaper last year received a $2,000 grant from the Department of Canadian Heritage. Heritage Minister Pablo Rodriguez said November 2 the grant was under review..Conservative MP Melissa Lantsman (Thornhill, ON.) yesterday expressed astonishment over the incident..“There was no apology and no condemnation,” Lantsman told the House of Commons..“Members of the Canadian government should not be meeting with Holocaust deniers and Hamas sympathizers who praise the murder of children,” said Lantsman. “They invited him and they got caught. Will the minister of Transport have the courage to stand up on his feet in this House and apologize?”.“As Members of Parliament we attend events everywhere,” replied Minister Alghabra. “We are accessible to our community members and there is always a risk of us meeting unsavoury individuals.”
