A Jewish advocacy group says Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow needs to apologize and take accountability for not attending a vigil marking one year since Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7.
Wednesday morning, Chow appeared on local radio show Newstalk 1010 and was asked about her absence at a Toronto vigil on Monday to mark one year since the terrorist attack that killed at least 1,200 people.
More than 20,000 people reportedly attended the vigil in North York, including Ontario Premier Doug Ford, several Toronto councillors and Vaughan Mayor Steven Del Duca.
Chow claims that her office didn’t receive the invite to the vigil but said she should have attended it.
“I really regret not being able to be there. I mourn with the Jewish community of the tragic loss of lives and the horrific things that Hamas did,” Chow said to host John Moore.
Chow went on to say that on that evening she got “caught up” in a lengthy discussion about bike lanes in the Kingsway area.
“The meeting went quite long and by the time I was done I was exhausted. So, I could have made phone calls and may have made it. I didn’t even know precisely what time the event was,” she said.
Chow added that she plans to apologize for not attending the vigil.
Later on Wednesday, ahead of a city council meeting, Chow spoke to reporters about the anniversary and how it was a “deeply painful day” for Toronto’s Jewish community, but she did not apologize.
“I want to reiterate that hate against any people practicing their faith or culture is not welcome in Toronto,” she said.
Toronto City Councillor James Pasternak told reporters on Wednesday that he had asked the mayor if she planned on attending the vigil and was “disappointed” to not see her there.
And the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CJIA) is calling out Chow for “evading responsibility” for missing the significant event.
“Mayor Olivia Chow seems to find all the words except the right ones to explain away her decision not to attend the October 7 commemoration in Toronto. Her interview today on NewsTalk1010 and her statement before today’s council meeting were embarrassing exercises in avoiding accountability for her and her staff who disappointed thousands and thousands of members of Toronto’s Jewish community,” CJIA’s Ontario Vice President Michelle Stock said in a statement on Wednesday.
Stock said the CJIA gave her the benefit of the doubt about missing three separate invitations to the vigil, but said Chow made it clear in her remarks today that “her absence was not the result of not receiving an invitation.”
“As exhausting as discussing bike lanes may be for the Mayor, we assure her the Jewish community is more exhausted. Over the last year, Toronto’s Jewish community has had to justify their right to exist as Jews, feeling unsafe as constituents in the city Mayor Chow is purported to lead,” Stock continued.
The CJIA is demanding an apology from Chow and actions to protect members of Toronto’s Jewish community.
“‘Sorry’ should not be the hardest word for her to say. We’re demanding an apology, and, if she is truthful about her regret, we hope she will agree to meet with CIJA without delay to discuss ways she can protect our community from the hate we’re facing today, as we have been over the last year,” Stock said.
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Earlier this month, Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw unveiled the latest statistics on hate crimes across the city and said there have been 350 hate crimes to date, marking a 40 per cent increase from a year ago. Moreover, the Jewish community saw the greatest increase in hate crimes against them with a 69 per cent increase year-over-year.
Since Oct. 7, Demkiw says police officers have managed more than 1,500 demonstrations and made 72 protest-related arrests.
