Amy Blanding speaks on the Vancouver Courthouse steps, October 9, 2024 -- image via video screenshot
In a sign of the disturbing neo-McCarthyism that is being seen in numerous workplaces, institutions and universities when it comes to criticism of Israel, the former Director of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity & Accessibility for the British Columbia Northern Health Authority, Amy Blanding, has filed a lawsuit against them for wrongful dismissal, defamation, and breach of her Charter rights after being removed from her position for online social media posts in solidarity with Palestine.
Blanding says the actions against her by her employer came after she performed a song calling for peace and spoke out on her personal social media against civilian deaths in Gaza. Community members in Prince George sent a letter to the health authority stating that Blanding’s song was “Pro-Hamas” and “Anti-Semitic.”
“I was removed from my position for calling for peace and denouncing the killing of tens of thousands of Palestinian civilians, particularly children, as Israel blocks aid and bombs supposed safe spaces in Gaza. For this I have been called hateful and bigoted,” says Blanding. “As someone with a passion for diversity, equity, and inclusion, these claims against me are especially painful. I am speaking up because I know there are others who have had similar experiences to me, and it is absolutely unacceptable.”
According to Blanding, Northern Health did not give her the opportunity to respond to the allegations against her. Instead, a press release issued by her says "they demanded Blanding publish a pre-drafted statement on her personal social media. When Blanding asked for time to consider whether she would post this statement, Northern Health denied her request and immediately removed her from her position.
Following Blanding’s dismissal, her supervisor, Vash Ebbadi-Cook, who was serving as Northern Health’s Executive Director, Workforce Sustainability, Quality, and Innovation resigned from their role to protest the way Northern Health treated Blanding."
Blanding is receiving support from groups like the BC Civil Liberties Association and Independent Jewish Voices Vancouver.
“The claims against Amy are outrageous. They are a blatant attempt to silence any criticism of Israel, which is a pattern we’ve seen in B.C. and across Canada. We feel sadness for Amy and anger for how she’s been treated,” said Sid Shniad of Independent Jewish Voices. “As a Jew, it’s important for me to say that it is not antiSemitic to oppose the Israeli military’s indiscriminate killing,” Shniad continued.
B.C. Civil Liberties president Hasan Alam, who was at an October 9 press conference announcing the lawsuit in Vancouver said "Ms. Blanding's dismissal reflects a broader and alarming trend of employers disciplining and silencing individuals for engaging in political speech. We are witnessing an increasing number of cases where individuals like Ms. Blanding face repercussions simply for expressing their conscience."
As her press release notes, Israel has killed over 40,000 people in Gaza in the past year, including over 16,000 children, and has impeded aid from reaching civilians. Gaza’s health infrastructure has been decimated by the Israeli military, undermining wounded residents’ access to needed health care.
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