Elizabeth May says she is weighing whether she should quit as leader of the federal Green Party because of its weekend vote supporting sanctions against Israel.
B.C. Green Party Leader Andrew Weaver is also speaking out against the federal party’s resolution.
May, MP for Saanich-Gulf Islands, said she is struggling with whether she can continue as leader in light of her party’s vote in favour of an anti-Israeli policy during its convention in Ottawa on the weekend.
She said she is not necessarily leaning toward quitting, but it’s an option she is considering.
In an interview Tuesday, she said she was stunned by the vote and described what happened at the convention as “an aberration” caused by abandonment of the usual consensus decision-making process. The hastily adopted policy could draw accusations of anti-Semitism, she said, and she hopes to have Green Party members reconsider.
Convention delegates voted to endorse the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, also known as BDS. Supporters of BDS are calling for boycotts and sanctions over the way Israel has dealt with Palestinians.
May said that while she voted against the resolution, she doesn’t want to “demonize” groups that support BDS. “I think it’s a terrible idea and I don’t think it’s going to advance the cause of Palestinians,” she said. “One of my options is to step down as leader because that would be a way of triggering a convention.”
The resolution was approved using Robert’s Rules of Order rather than consensus decision-making and that greatly abbreviated the time for debating, she said.
May said she is looking forward to vacationing with her family and going off the grid “in a place far removed from politics.” “It almost sounds absurd that my sense of purpose and commitment to continue as leader of the Green Party has been thrown into crisis by Robert’s Rules of Order,” she said. “I hope after a couple of nights of being able to sleep well, it will become clearer to me what I should do.”
Former Nanaimo-Ladysmith Green Party candidate Paul Manly said he hopes May remains as leader. “I think it would be really unfortunate for her to leave based on this,” said Manly, adding he felt the resolution was being misconstrued by the media as a boycott of Israel. “This has nothing to do with ordinary Israeli citizens or companies in Israel. It’s a boycott of companies that profit from illegal settlements.”
Jo-Ann Roberts, who ran for the Green Party in Victoria, also said she wants May to remain as leader. Roberts didn’t go to the convention because she was attending a wedding.
“I truly hope Elizabeth can find a way to stay on as leader. But, in order for that to happen, she would have to feel that there is a way for the party to make changes to its recent resolution on BDS,” Roberts said. “I have always known Elizabeth to be a person of principle and integrity. She will try and find a way to resolve this issue, but if she can’t, then the party risks losing its most valuable asset.”
Weaver said in a statement the vote supporting BDS “represents a significant step away” from B.C. Green Party values.
“I think the Green Party of Canada needs to take a careful look at their policy process and ask themselves how a policy that goes against Green Party values could have been allowed on the floor of a convention,” he said.
“BDS is a politically motivated movement that damages any attempt at peace in the Middle East by assigning blame to one party. It risks increasing tension and does not represent a responsible or thoughtful approach to a difficult international issue.”
— With The Canadian Press
