Jewish group backpedals, says Blanc ‘caused pain’
After initially defending her, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said Thursday that embattled PQ candidate Michelle Blanc should “express regret” about her comments toward the Jewish community that some have found hurtful.
A 2007 blog post by Blanc was made public on Sunday, in which she opined that it would be much easier for Mile End and Outremont’s Hasidim to “disappear from my sight.” Blanc also wrote a tweet in 2011 saying, “Merde, I forgot to celebrate Hitler’s birthday last week.”
While the Parti Québécois has resisted calls to oust her as a candidate and Leader Jean-François Lisée said he defends her right to express herself, a PQ spokesperson said a decision was made within the PQ team for Blanc not to comment publicly about the statements.
After telling the Montreal Gazette on Wednesday that she will not apologize and does not have to defend herself, she has declined further comment then and again Thursday, after she spoke at a public event organized by the Association québécoise des technologies to outline her party’s digital strategy.
B’nai Brith Canada wrote a letter to the PQ asking that Blanc be removed as a candidate, and the Hasidic community of Outremont called on her to apologize.
Meanwhile, the CIJA initially defended Blanc, saying she was not anti- Semitic and that her comments on the blog were merely an unfortunate generalization.
On Thursday, however, the CIJA tempered its stance, saying the organization recognizes that some members of the community were hurt by the statements.
“CIJA remains of the opinion that Michelle Blanc is not antiSemitic, and that her controversial statements should not be construed as anti-Semitic, however regrettable and misplaced they have been,” said David Ouellette, the CIJA’s director of research and public affairs for Quebec.
“In light of the pain and hurt felt by the community in the last four days, we believe the best thing for Mme. Blanc to do now is to express regret for having caused this pain and hurt.”
Ouellette said he would not go so far as to say Blanc should apologize.
“We don’t want to defend what she wrote, but we still think there is a difference between expressing harsh criticism, making generalizations and making anti- Semitic statement,” Ouellette said. “It’s the same thing with the Hitler tweet. She was not making an apology for Hitler or expressing sympathy for Hitler.”
A spokesperson for Outremont’s Hasidic community said Wednesday that Blanc’s comments were anti-Semitic, hurtful and not befitting a candidate who wishes to represent a riding with a sizable portion of ultra- Orthodox Jews.
“If someone says she would wish to see (the Hasidic community) vanish, and that she missed Hitler’s birthday, that is not something in our opinion that we joke about,” Alex Werzberger said. "I can tell you: it hurts.
“If she doesn’t apologize, it means that she stands by her statement, and it means that she is what they call her (anti- Semitic),” he added.
“If you want to be an anti-Semite in your living room with your friends, be my guest. But not in public.”
Harvey Levine, the Quebec regional director for B’nai Brith Canada, said Blanc’s past comments have shown intolerance toward black people, Jews, Muslims and people of colour, and are not befitting a PQ candidate.
“We said the support of Ms. Blanc as a candidate reflects poorly on the PQ as a party built on morality, justice, humanity and decency. We don’t feel an individual like that should be representing citizens in Quebec,” he said.