We stand with Susan Kim’s important support for the Palestinian people.

We deplore recent attempts to silence Victoria City Councillor Kim with defamatory and unfounded accusations. 

Thousands upon thousands of Canadians are marching week after week from coast to coast to coast calling for a ceasefire and an end to Israel’s genocidal attack on the people of Gaza. Across the country Jews have stood in these marches, in solidarity with Palestinians, Arabs, and Muslims. Councillor Kim was representing us when she made a public statement in support of a ceasefire.

Further, we strongly condemn the suggestion of banning Keffiyehs from council chambers. Would council ban kippot next? To suggest that Palestinian cultural garments are “displays of hate” feeds into Islamophobic tropes and we cannot allow these racist views to take hold in our city.

We cannot relegate speaking out against genocide to a federal issue. Politicians at all levels need to use the power they have to call for human rights, respect of international law, and justice for the Palestinian people. This is the meaning of "never again". The City of Victoria must say: ceasefire now!

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This petition was written and initiated by Jewish residents of Victoria, from the Victoria chapter of Independent Jewish Voices. We admire Susan Kim’s courage, in a time of extreme political repression, to represent the views of so many of us in Victoria calling for peace.