May decides to stay on as leader of Greens

Elizabeth May
Green party Leader Elizabeth May

Elizabeth May decided not to leave her post as leader of the Green Party of Canada, after members voted to adopt a policy in support of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) campaign against Israel, despite her vocal opposition to it.

“It appears I am much loved. It’s surprising to find sometimes in politics,” May said at a press conference on Monday, during which she reaffirmed her commitment to leading the Greens.

May said moving to another party, “was never a consideration,” and that she was overwhelmed by the support she received from members of the Green party, as well as non-members.

Following the Green party’s national convention in Ottawa earlier this month, during which delegates passed a resolution in favour of the BDS campaign, May took a family vacation to contemplate whether she could continue to lead a party that voted for a policy she considers to be “polarizing, ineffective and unhelpful in the quest for peace and security for the peoples of the Middle East.”

In the days that followed the biennial convention, May told CBC that she was “quite certain most of our members don’t support this policy, but weren’t fully engaged in the consensus building process we normally would have had.”

She added that if she couldn’t arrange to have the resolutions reviewed with a consensus decision-making process, she would “profoundly question whether I can continue as leader and that’s obviously heart-breaking.”

During the press conference, May said one of the reasons she opted to stay on as leader was that the party’s executive council agreed to call a special meeting to give members the opportunity to revisit the resolutions passed at the August convention without a consensus.

She explained that the last convention was the first time the Green party followed Robert’s Rules of Order instead of a consensus.

“Like first-past-the-post, in my experience Robert’s Rules of Order is fast, efficient, and leads to bad decisions,” she said, adding that the special meeting in the coming months will allow the party to review decisions made at the convention that lacked consensus.

“The federal council has passed a series of motions giving me full support and a path forward that allows us to deal with the recent difficulties the party experienced and to focus on what really matters,” May said.

May wouldn’t say if she would continue to lead the party if the BDS motions remain unchanged. “That’s too hypothetical for me, I’m afraid. The reality is, I’m very convinced that with a consensus-based decision-making process… that consensus will be one that we can all support.”

Michael Mostyn, B’nai Brith Canada CEO said he was encouraged by May’s commitment to having the party revisit the resolutions.

“Reconsidering the anti-Semitic BDS resolution is a step in the right direction,” he said. “The BDS movement has no place in any respectable Canadian political party.”

According to the Globe and Mail, May speculated that “single-issue people” joined the Green party to push the BDS movement forward.

She said the BDS movement is a social movement, rather than a political one, and doesn’t think a political party should officially endorse it.

Translated from French, May said, “I don’t think it is effective in terms of peace in the region… I think both nations have to be involved in the peace process and we need to support both of them… We have to protect the children, both Israeli and Palestinian. It’s a human rights issue for both countries for me.”

May denied that the resolutions themselves are anti-Semitic, and that the Green party has a problem with anti-Semitism in general, but said that there are anti-Semitic people who support the movement.

“I don’t think there are anti-Semitic people within the Green party… the allegations that there is some kind of group within the Green party that is anti-Semitic – no, absolutely not the case and the people who put forward that resolution have in their minds that there are deep injustices being visited on civilians in the occupied territory and they want to see justice done.”

Shimon Fogel, Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs CEO said the fact that May has to deny allegations that her party is anti-Semitic “raises alarm bells.”

“Prominent voices within the Green party have pointed out that BDS is tainted by anti-Semitism, and Elizabeth May herself told CBC that BDS is viewed by most of the Jewish community as anti-Semitic,” Fogel said.

“Taken together with the appalling treatment of Paul Estrin in 2014 and the Holocaust denial of former candidate Monika Schaefer, it’s clear that the party is plagued by some with a disturbing view of Jews and the Jewish State.”

In 2014 Estrin wrote a piece for The CJN that spoke about how he was forced out of his position as Green party president for his even-handed views regarding the Gaza war.

“Elizabeth May’s denial of anti-Semitism within the party, and the anti-Semitic nature of BDS, leaves the impression that she intends to sweep all of this under the rug – despite the unprecedented division and reputational damage BDS activists have caused to the Greens,” Fogel said.

“Our hope is that Elizabeth May takes decisive steps to rescind the BDS policy and reclaim the party from a small but vocal minority of BDS activists.”