A Nova Scotia woman who withdrew herself as an NDP candidate in the provincial election is speaking publicly for the first time since criticism of past social media posts about Gaza led her to run as an independent instead.
Tammy Jakeman says she regrets the November 2023 posts.
“I’m sorry that I did that,” she said.
“I own my mistake, it’s something I’ve taught my children, it’s something I teach my students.”
The NDP announced earlier this month that Jakeman was no longer running for the party in Eastern Passage, after the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs alleged she made “hurtful” posts.
In a press release, the centre shared screenshots of a social media account with Jakeman’s name, including a post responding to the Auschwitz Memorial saying Israel was responsible for the deaths of children in Gaza.
The account appeared to be deleted and Jakeman did not respond to a request for comment at the time.
In the aftermath, she says she has received support.
“The attack on Tammy Jakeman — and that’s really what it was, was an attack — it seemed to be very political, very coordinated,” said Ben Sichel, from the Halifax chapter of Independent Jewish Voices.
But the Atlantic Jewish Council, which was among those that called out Jakeman, says she should do more than apologize.
“To specify what kind of education she wants to do, in terms of anti-Semitism, training, learning about how these Tweets are offensive to our community and hurtful to our community,” said Mark David, the council’s president.
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— with a file from The Canadian Press and Global News’ Rebecca Lau