NDP MLA apologizes for liking controversial social media post

A member of the Saskatchewan NDP has issued an apology for liking a social media post that some view as antisemitic.

In a statement released Monday, Saskatoon University MLA Jennifer Bowes said she never intended to cause anyone any pain when she liked a post on Instagram that contained a video where people chanted “from the river to the sea.”

That chant has been popular among pro-Palestinian protesters raising concerns about the Israel-Hamas war.

Premier Scott Moe called out Bowes after she liked the post, then referred to the Saskatchewan NDP as a whole as “a gathering of self-proclaimed radicals or extremists.”

Saskatchewan Party MLAs also accused Bowes of helping to organize a protest that disrupted proceedings in the Assembly on Nov. 20. Bowes stood when the protesters were chanting and wore a scarf supporting the pro-Palestinian cause.

Bowes denied those accusations.

In her statement Monday, Bowes said hate doesn’t have any place in Saskatchewan or in Canada.

“I have and will continue to condemn in the strongest possible way any act of Islamophobia and antisemitism,” she wrote. “Our party has a strong record of opposing all forms of hate and standing up for human rights.”

She explained that she liked the social media post without looking at all of the photos or videos included the post, and therefore didn’t know they included the chant.

“I have since heard from multiple different people who understandably have strong feelings on this long and painful conflict and on one of the chants featured in that carousel,” Bowes said in the statement.

“I have learned that for some in the Jewish community, they experience this slogan as deeply offensive and antisemitic. I have also heard from those who genuinely use the slogan as a call for the full rights and equality of all people, including Palestinians.

“I apologize to anyone who was hurt by the impacts of the post. My intention was never to cause further division and, out of respect, I have removed the like.”

Bowes said she will reach out to both the Jewish and Muslim communities for further conversation “as I am committed to fostering mutual respect, dialogue, and understanding as we work towards an end to all forms of violence and oppression.”

— With files from The Canadian Press