PelhamToday received the following letter about pro-Palestine delegations trying to speak at a regional council meeting
At regional council last night, several delegations spoke about the serious harms that have been caused by decisions regional council has made in the past few months. Instead of listening with empathy and compassion, several council members took it upon themselves to display their true colours.
As two of the delegations spoke, Coun. (Wayne) Redekop and Coun. (Robert) Foster took it upon themselves to interrupt multiple times by invoking point of orders, preventing speakers from finishing their points. At the end of one delegation, as the speaker asked for a moment of silence to honour the more than 30,000 people that have been killed, Coun. Redekop took it upon himself to comment that it was a “mockery of a moment of silence” as the audience stood up collectively to honour the request.
As Coun. (Haley) Bateman then tried to speak regarding the delegations, Councillors (Mat) Siscoe, Redekop, and Foster invoked several points of order to prevent her from speaking. As the meeting finally came to a close, after all the delegations and their supporters had left, Chair (Jim) Bradley went on a four-minute rant on why his decision to light the region in the colour of the Israeli flag was appropriate.
Rather than apologize or acknowledge the serious harms of his decision or the serious trauma that is occurring for those witnessing their loved ones being killed, Bradley doubled down. Instead of acknowledging the plausibility of genocide as one delegate had spoken of, Bradley described it as a “military exercise” and a “war.” He then invoked memories of 9/11 and compared it to Oct. 7 in saying that innocent civilians were killed in both scenarios while not even mentioning the more than 30,000 Palestinians, of which more than 13,000 are children, that have been killed.
Thank you, Chair Bradley, I appreciate you showing us all your true intentions and feelings, deep-seated White supremacy and that Brown and Muslim people can be killed in the millions as part of “war” and “military exercise” while White people deserve life that cannot be stolen by “terrorist” attacks. Thank you.
It was a great show last night. The Old Boys’ Club of Niagara Region stood in all their might to show their true convictions regarding the genocide in Gaza by silencing debate, interrupting delegations, and telling us all that Palestinian lives do not matter.
Chai AlHurriya
St. Catharines
