B.C. minister who resigned over Mideast comments received death threat, premier says

Feb 9, 2024 | 8:33 AM

VICTORIA — British Columbia’s premier says Selina Robinson, who resigned as post-secondary education minister recently over Mideast comments, has received a death threat.

David Eby called the action inexcusable in a statement posted on the social media platform X.

He says police are investigating to find out who is responsible and that Robinson is safe.

Robinson stepped down from the cabinet post on Monday after facing growing criticism over her comments during an online panel that modern Israel was founded on a “crappy piece of land,” which critics called racist and Islamophobic.

Eby had said previously that Robinson’s constituency office was vandalized with “hateful messages” after her resignation.

Nico Slobinsky with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs says on social media he is saddened by the news of the threat, adding that he wonders if Robinson’s critics are emboldened after her resignation.

Slobinsky says in a separate post that a death threat on an elected official “should concern all British Columbians.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Feb. 9, 2024.

The Canadian Press