WINNIPEG – A New Democrat candidate in Winnipeg has dropped out of the election campaign.
Stefan Jonasson has stepped down after social media comments of his surfaced in which he compared a practice by one Jewish group to the Taliban.
Jonasson says his comments have been taken out of context – he was not comparing Jews to the Taliban.
He says he was criticizing the way women are treated by the Haredim, including segregation of the sexes and strict dress codes.
READ MORE: Jewish groups ‘astonished’ that NDP candidate not aware of Auschwitz
The social media posts were published on a blog and had time stamps dating to 2011 and 2012.
Jonasson says he was asked by the NDP to step down, which he has agreed to.
Jonasson was running in the riding of Charleswood–St. James–Assiniboia–Headingley, currently held by Conservative Steven Fletcher.
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