Editorial Cartoon by Graeme MacKay, The Hamilton Spectator – Thursday August 18, 2016
Elizabeth May could quit as Green Party leader this month
Elizabeth May says she could step down as Green Party leader later this month if her party doesn’t reconsider its decision to endorse a movement that calls for the boycott of Israel.
At its policy convention last weekend, Green Party members voted in favour of a resolution which, in part, said the party “supports the use of divestment, boycott and sanctions (BDS) that are targeted to those sectors of Israel’s economy and society which profit from the ongoing occupation of the OPT [occupied Palestinian Territories.]”
“I would say as of this minute I think I’d have real difficulties going not just to an election but through the next month,” May said in an interview with CBC Radio’s The House, set to air this Saturday morning on CBC Radio One.
August 22, 2016
“There are a lot of issues I want to be talking about with Canadians, and this isn’t one of them.”
May is headed to Nova Scotia for a family vacation, where she will seek their advice on her future as leader.
“I need to talk to my family and ask them what they think I should do,” May said. “You’re talking to a broken-hearted person who is trying to figure out the best way forward.”
After Green Party members endorsed the BDS movement, several prominent Jewish organizations denounced the move, with one leader saying he was “irate” with the party.
But another Jewish group was enthusiastic about the resolution brought forward by the Green Party’s justice critic, Dimitri Lascaris.
May — who opposes BDS — said she has been criticized as both a Zionist and an anti-Semite since it was adopted as official party policy.
“It’s horrible. You are caught between two very strong loud voices,” she said.
“I think it is wrong-headed for the party. It’s a very polarizing and divisive campaign.” (Source: CBC News)