Former B.C. cabinet minister Selina Robinson is quitting the NDP caucus to sit as an independent, citing a lack of support from her colleagues and a failure of the party to address antisemitism.
The move follows Robinson’s exit from cabinet in February, amid backlash over her comment that Israel was founded on a “crappy piece of land with nothing on it,” which critics called racist and Islamophobic.
In an interview Wednesday, Robinson, who is Jewish, told Global News the party’s response to the controversy was the deciding factor amid tensions with colleagues that had been growing since Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
“I haven’t felt supported by my caucus. My heart was breaking along every step of the way,” she said.
“There’s been, what I felt was a double standard that whenever one of my caucus colleagues said something antisemitic — intentionally or unintentionally, usually it was unintentional — an apology would suffice … This unfortunately was seen differently.”
She said B.C.’s Jewish community has repeatedly offered forgiveness over offensive comments but hasn’t seen the type of response from government as in her case, “and it comes across as antisemitic.”
Robinson apologized in a social media post after the controversial comments, acknowledging they were “disrespectful.”
But the government faced protests, calls to remove her from cabinet, and a ban on NDP MLAs from entering some B.C. mosques.
Days later, Premier David Eby said he had accepted Robinson’s resignation as post-secondary education minister, calling her remarks “belittling and demeaning.”
“When you hurt someone, you need to reach out and figure out how to reduce harm,” the premier told media. “The depth of work she needs to do is substantial.”
Robinson said Wednesday that she felt she was not given any choice but to step down as minister.
She added that she had asked the premier’s office if there was work she could do to try and heal divisions between the Jewish and Arab-Muslim communities, and had asked for antisemitism and anti-Islamophobia training for all of caucus, but was turned down.
“I just thought if we can’t do this important work to heal communities, then I didn’t know how I could carry on as a New Democrat,” she said, adding that she doesn’t feel supported as a Jewish woman.
In a statement, Eby said he was “saddened” to see Robinson leave, and that he wished her the best.
“I have deep respect and gratitude for all of the work she has done as a Minister, as an MLA in our caucus, and her advocacy for the Jewish community,” he said.
“Selina made a mistake, and she was doing the work to address the harm that was caused. I wish she had brought her concerns to me directly so we could have worked through them together.”
He went on to say that he condemns all forms of hate, including the rise of antisemitims.
BC NDP Government House Leader Ravi Kahlon said Robinson’s departure marked a “sad day.”
“Selina is clearly hurting. She made a mistake, but she has also done a lot of amazing work when she was in our caucus when she was a minister,” he said.
“I had a great deal of respect for her for the work she has done advocating for the Jewish community, also for the work she has done advocating for the LGBTQ community.”
Kahlon denied there was a double standard in the handling of her case, and denied the insinuation of antisemitism within the government caucus, adding Robinson had not raised any issues previously.
“The premier has spoken out many times on antisemitism. In fact just last week, we were talking about this in the legislature,” he said.
“We can’t impact what is happening across the world. What we can do is ensure that B.C. continues to be a welcoming place for everyone, no matter your faith, your gender identity or where you come from.”
In reaction to Robinson’s remark, the BC Muslim Association said her comment was “derogatory,” and asked her to acknowledge she has engaged in “a pattern of Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism.”
When she resigned as minister, prominent voices in the Jewish community alleged it showed Jewish leaders were held to different standards.
“She has been such an incredible public servant and a dedicated member of that party for a very long time,” Dan Moskovitz, senior rabbi of Vancouver’s Temple Shalom, said.
“But there has been a breach of trust and I think more than her leaving the party, the party left her when the premier decided to make an example of her and not accept her apology and not accept her offers of how to reconcile and repair, which he has done with everyone else.”
Robinson, who has also served as finance minister, has already announced she does not plan to run in the upcoming October provincial election.
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to provide additional context and balance.