Toronto (September 12, 2019) – Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) is calling for the Green Party to dismiss Dale Dewar, a candidate in the riding of Regina–Qu’Appelle, Saskatchewan, following recent antisemitic social media posts.

While her Twitter account has since been deactivated, a Canadian Jewish News report reveals that her posts have included support for the antisemitic BDS movement, calling Israel a “serial rapist” and Zionism a “made-up cult” and stating Israelis need “mental health workers” so that they can “get over” trauma caused by the Holocaust.

Dewar has since apologized for her comments, calling them “inflammatory.”

“Dewar’s recent apology fails to acknowledge the posts were antisemitic and does not make up for the fact that someone looking to hold a leadership position in government holds such antisemitic beliefs and has openly promoted them,” said FSWC president and CEO Avi Benlolo. “There is no place in the political process for those who promote bigotry and racial hatred.”  

In a letter to Green Party Leader Elizabeth May, FSWC called on the party to recognize that Dewar’s words were much more than “‘inflammatory’– they were vile, they belittled the horrors of the Holocaust, and they were antisemitic” and to send a message that “such candidates will not be tolerated” by disassociating itself from Dewar immediately.