On July 25, the London Police Service picked up a very upset Darlene Zaifman-Guslits by her arms and legs, and carried her away from the front door of the Jewish Community Centre. The London resident had just been issued a trespass notice for refusing to leave the building where her community was hosting a speech by Conservative party leader Pierre Poilievre, about antisemitism.
Whether she was booted out because some of her family members took part in a peaceful protest outside the venue that evening, together with members of Independent Jewish Voices, unions, and pro-Palestinian activists, or whether it was because of what she was wearing, it isn’t clear. And no one–not the police, not the JCC, and not Poilevre’s people–is taking responsibility for making the call to kick her out.
Zaifman-Guslits comes from a prominent Jewish family with deep roots in the city: she has run meal programs for the needy, she’s taught Hebrew lessons, and her Holocaust survivor parents helped found the Jewish day school inside the very building she was turfed from. She’s now consulted a lawyer.
On today’s episode of The CJN Daily, Darlene Zaifman-Guslits joins to share why she feels so betrayed and whether mainstream Jewish communities are marginalizing people with progressive views.
What we talked about:
- Watch the video of Darlene Zaifman-Guslits being denied entry, and evicted for trespassing at the JCC London, on Instagram.
- Why the Jewish Federation in London, Ont. is actively seeking new immigrants, on The CJN Daily.
- When London’s Jewish leaders attended a vigil to remember the four members of a Muslim family murdered by being run over by a truck, in The CJN archives.
Credits
- Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner) [email protected]
- Production team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
- Music: Dov Beck-Levine
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