Two federal NDP candidates resigned after alleged antisemitic tweets

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On September 15, 2021 The Canadian Press reported:

NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh says antisemitic comments by two of his party’s candidates who resigned were “completely wrong.” “Antisemitism is real,” Singh said during a campaign stop in Essex, Ont. “We’re seeing a scary rise in antisemitism, and we are unequivocally opposed, and we’ll confront it.”

The party confirmed Wednesday that Dan Osborne, the candidate for the Nova Scotia riding of Cumberland-Colchester, and Sidney Coles, the candidate for Toronto-St. Paul’s, ended their campaigns and “agreed to educate themselves further about antisemitism.” Singh said antisemitism has no place in his party and the candidates made the right decision to resign. “In addition, they’re talking about the importance of getting training,” Singh said. Coles, who has since deleted her Twitter account, was reported to have posted misinformation about Israel being linked to missing COVID-19 vaccines.

On September 15, 2021 Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies reported:

Two federal NDP candidates have stepped down after revelations of their tweets, including antisemitic conspiracy theories exposed by Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) earlier this week. The NDP announced today that Toronto-St. Paul’s candidate Sidney Coles and Cumberland-Colchester candidate Dan Osborne have ended their campaigns and “have agreed to educate themselves further about antisemitism.”

On Sunday, FSWC exposed and denounced Coles’ tweets in which she repeatedly accused Israel of misappropriating U.S. supplies of the coronavirus vaccine. Coles apologized after the organization called on the candidate to issue a retraction and detailed apology for her false and offensive remarks that hurt members of the Jewish community. A tweet in which Osborne asked if Auschwitz was a real place also surfaced.