EXCUSES, EXCUSES

‘Exhausted,’ then ‘spammed,’ Chow’s now ‘sorry’ – but for what, exactly?

Mayor Olivia Chow has finally said she’s “sorry.”

Or has she?

The only problem is, it’s not clear what she is sorry about or to whom she’s directing the apology.

“ I regret that I missed the memorial hosted by UJA and CIJA last week. I should have been there. I am sorry,” the mayor said in a statement.

“Oct. 7th was a deeply painful day, during an extremely difficult year. I mourn the tragic loss of lives with the Jewish community by the horrific acts of Hamas. This is the largest number of lives lost since the Holocaust.”

Is Chow saying she’s sorry that she missed the candlelight vigil of 10,000 mourners at the United Jewish Appeal Federation Sherman Campus on Bathurst St, a week ago Monday night because of an alleged invitation mix up? Or is she saying sorry to the Jewish community for what they see as a deliberate snubbing?

She didn’t clarify this. The mayor, who attended a Rosh Hashanah event at city hall a week ago Wednesday, will want this to go away.

“She has a lot of work to do to really show she does care for our community and is not just paying lip service to her statement,” said Michelle Stock, a vice president with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.

But in the mayor’s statement , she appears to be doubling down on the baffling assertion that computer issues in her office resulted in her not receiving an invitation to the vigil, even though many other politicians managed to find their way there.

“There was a miscommunication between my office and the organizers, but that is in the past.” Chow said. “We have created multiple new points of contact with CIJA, so we don’t miss invitations to important events. I look forward to meeting with the UJA and CIJA, the organizations who put on the event.”

This was all news to the people at the CIJA, who say they hadn’t heard directly from Chow or her office. They don’t see this as a formal or proper apology. It’s not in the past for them.

“We’re waiting for her to apologize to us, the Jewish community directly and not through media,” Stock said, adding that they “hope her office will reach out to us and schedule a meeting.”

Also noticeably absent from Chow’s statement was any acknowledgment that the Toronto Police Association is also looking for an apology for her not showing up at the hospital after a 53 Division constable was shot two weeks ago. Remember, the Toronto Police have been out at protests every night since Oct. 7th. 2023. As a result of these protests, Toronto’s Jewish community has seen a rise in anti-Semitic crimes, and they don’t feel safe.

While Chow did say, “I know there is fear in our city amid a substantial rise in hate crimes. I denounce all forms of anti-Semitism and hate in our city,” the CIJA and the UJA say they are not feeling any sincerity.

“Her record on these issues have been inconsistent and suspect,” Stock said. “But I look forward to hearing from her or her team on when we can meet to discuss these issues and how she will tackle them.”

So, while Chow might like to see an end to this whole mess, it’s not over yet.

“She should apologize publicly,” Councillor Brad Bradford said, adding, “She should say it to the community,”

He’s right. The community isn’t buying the narrative that the mayor didn’t know this event was happening or didn’t received an invitation – especially since Jewish Councillor James Pasternak said he personally asked Chow if she was going to attend this event and that the civic leader told him that she didn’t know.

The CIJA also produced emails of the invitation that were sent directly to her scheduler.