Ontario MPP Jama Removed From Legislature Again Over Keffiyeh Scarf Ban

Sarah Jama, 23, a disability justice advocate who has cerebral palsy, poses for a portrait at her home in Hamilton, Ont., on Tuesday, March 13, 2018. Jama is happy that the new Stats Canada statistics on violence against women with disabilities due to come out later this week will give them something concrete to work with. "The numbers will validate what we have been talking about for years," she says. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter Power

Independent MPP Sarah Jama has been removed from the Ontario legislature for a second time in just two weeks after wearing a keffiyeh scarf, which has been banned by the speaker.

Ms. Jama donned the keffiyeh, which is largely associated with pro-Palestinian activism, during question period on Monday, May 6, and was asked to leave the chamber as a result. Less than two weeks earlier, on April 26, Ms. Jama had also been told to leave the chamber for wearing the clothing item but had refused.

“While we can spend time to recognize genocides of the past, we struggle as members of this house to recognize genocides of the present,” Ms. Jama said after leaving the chamber, adding, “So wearing the keffiyeh is a testament to the fact that Palestinians have the right to return, they have the right to exist, and they do not deserve to be genocided.”

Two other MPPs also put on keffiyeh scarves and joined Ms. Jama in leaving the chamber. NDP members Joel Harden and Kristyn Wong-Tam expressed their support for Ms. Jama and their opposition to Speaker Ted Arnott’s ban.

“This keffiyeh ban is rather selective,” Ms. Wong-Tam said. “It’s also perpetuating what I see as racism and erasure of Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim culture, and that is not what this house stands for.”

Ms. Jama was a former member of the NDP until last year when she was expelled from the caucus shortly after the Oct. 7 massacres by Hamas in Israel for comments she made on social media, claiming that the violence was “rooted” in colonialism and “occupation.”

“To be clear, I unequivocally condemn terrorism by Hamas on thousands of Israeli civilians. I also believe that Israel’s bombardment and siege on civilians in Gaza, as was also noted by the United Nations, is wrong,” she said on Oct. 23. The legislature censured her for her remarks and while she did apologize, Ms. Jama did not retract her comments.

Government House Leader Paul Calandra has stated support for the current ban on the keffiyeh in the chamber and spoke after question period. “The rules that govern the chamber are to have respectful debate back and forth between members to ensure that we’re focused on the policies and the issues of the day without political statements being made in the house. That has always been the tradition and I think the Speaker has upheld that.”

On April 18, Mr. Arnott upheld the ban on wearing the keffiyeh after putting the issue to a vote requiring unanimous consent of all present in the chamber. Due to unanimous consent not being obtained, the ban remained.

Several Ontario political leaders have been critical of the ban, including Premier Doug Ford, who said he personally disagrees with the ban and called on the speaker to allow the garment to be worn.

Jewish advocacy group B'nai Brith has taken the opposite stance and commended Mr. Arnott. “The keffiyeh’s innocuous origins as a cultural symbol have been corrupted by radicals,” the organization said. “It has become a divisive symbol that is used to incite.”

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.