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 Cheri Di Novo condemned Israeli Apartheid Week. (Dave Thomas/QMI Agency, file) |
TORONTO -- Ontario New Democratic MPP Cheri Di Novo received threats after speaking in favour of a resolution at Queen’s Park that condemned Israeli Apartheid Week — an annual event on university campuses.
“Enough! Just no more threats,” Di Novo wrote on her Facebook wall March 13, in response to critics of her stand.
“I excercised my free speech as a woman concerned for civil rights. All I ask is that you leave my family alone. I’m happy to meet you face to face, just no more e-mails, threats and nonsense.”
And in response to a poster who expressed doubt whether anyone would do such a thing, Di Novo responded that they were very serious.
“Many have and may I point to the naivety of some who think this issue is so incredibly black and white that I should be silenced and my family threatened,” she wrote.
“Please ... grow up. And again, someone is calling my home. Leave me, my husband and my children alone.”
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Di Novo, who is out of the country this week, did not respond to an e-mail requesting comment, and has taken down the wall on her Facebook page where the comments were posted.
The NDP also declined to comment on the threats, and it’s not clear whether Di Novo has contacted police.
The resolution, presented Feb. 25 by Progressive Conservative MPP Peter Shurman, condemned the six-year-old series of events, speeches and demonstrations that make up Israeli Apartheid Week — a condemnation of how the government of Israel treats Palestinians.
Di Novo spoke in favour of Shurman’s motion, which passed unanimously, even though she said she opposes the Israeli occupation and the wall between Israel and the territories.
The motion was met with dismay from the party’s activists, which forced NDP Leader Andrea Horwath to release a letter the next day condemning Shurman’s motion.