A Jewish group is demanding the resignation of a Quebec mayor who said Israel shouldn’t exist.

Stephane Gendron said Israel is an apartheid state and expressed hope for its demise, in remarks made Dec. 27 on a daily television show he hosts, . He said “products being made in Israel, on land stolen from Palestinians, who are kept walled in by an apartheid regime where they are cut off…it’s very serious.”

“And a country like that does not deserve to exist,” said Gendron, the mayor of Huntingdon, Quebec, a small town southwest of Montreal.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

Members of the Jewish Defense League picketed in front of Huntingdon’s city hall Jan. 26, demanding Gendron step down as mayor or be fired. JDL Canada spokesman Meir Weinstein said about 20 people protested and the group intends to keep up the pressure for Gendron to step down.

The mayor’s remarks were “dangerous, inflammatory and un-Canadian,” Weinstein told Canadian Press.

The day after he made his inflammatory remarks, Gendron said he was sorry if he offended anyone. Reading from a statement, he said Jews have a right to form a state. However, he said he also has the right to denounce Israeli government policies concerning Palestinians, which doesn’t make him an anti-Semite.

He said he doesn’t want to talk about the issue anymore.

The Forward is free to read, but it isn’t free to produce

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward.

Now more than ever, American Jews need independent news they can trust, with reporting driven by truth, not ideology. We serve you, not any ideological agenda.

At a time when other newsrooms are closing or cutting back, the Forward has removed its paywall and invested additional resources to report on the ground from Israel and around the U.S. on the impact of the war, rising antisemitism and polarized discourse.

Readers like you make it all possible. Support our work by becoming a Forward Member and connect with our journalism and your community.

This is a great time to support independent Jewish journalism you rely on. Make a gift today!

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.

$90 $180

$360

Other amount