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Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish eerily comparing a Hamas terrorist leader to Nelson Mandela has led to growing pressure for her to apologize.

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So far, the mayor has not done so. But saying she “didn’t” make the comparison, Parrish dismissed the claims of those suing her on social media, saying her comments were taken out of context.

“Every written word is spiraling out of control,” Parrish told the Toronto Sun Thursday morning. “I would love to respond truthfully to what you just responded, but it will spark another stream of vitriol on social media.”

What I wrote to him was that Mandela did not plan or carry out a barbaric attack on innocent people in Israel, in which women were raped and children massacred.

What she told the council Wednesday had people shaking their heads in bewilderment and disgust.

Stating that she is still consulting lawyers on whether or not the planned martyrdom celebration of the late Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar is protected by the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, she pushed back against a fellow council member who took the position that this man was a terrorist and this event should not happen.

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“I just want to point out, and I’m not kidding, that Nelson Mandela was declared a terrorist by the United States of America until 2008,” she told the city council from the mayor’s seat. “Your terrorist and someone else’s terrorist may be two different things.”

It was an astonishing and bizarre confusion.

It goes without saying that the comparison between the iconic former president of South Africa, who started out as a prisoner for leading a group fighting the horrors of apartheid, and the leader of a listed terrorist group who carried out a barbaric sneak attack from Gaza on October 7 against innocent people at a music festival and on a kibbutz in Israel, leaving 1,200 dead, 254 taken hostage and many women and children raped, is shocking.

There is no comparison to Mandela, and it was an irresponsible and disturbing statement to suggest that there is. Ironically, or not so ironically, it was the same story presented in a video by a man believed to be behind organizing the vigil who went so far as to say that one day there would be a “Sinwar Day” like there is a Mandela Day. .

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“Making a correlation between Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela and Yayha Sinwar is despicable,” said a statement from the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA). “This is an insult to too many families who lost loved ones to Sinwar, including Canadians.

“Mayor Parrish’s moral compass is clearly broken. Moreover, by this odious comparison, she has tarnished the reputation of the city she leads. Mississaugians, and frankly Ontarians and Canadians, deserve better. The mayor should immediately apologize for these comments.

They also produced the video and audio of Parrish’s explanation which sparked numerous comments – most questioning the mayor’s decision to go there as much as the comment itself.

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But Parrish said the way it was shot was incorrect.

“I haven’t compared the two,” Parrish said. “I explained how perceptions can change over time and how a terrorist to one group can become a hero to others. »

His detractors certainly don’t see it that way.

“What’s wrong with you?” asked Conservative Deputy Leader and MP Melissa Lantsman on X.

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“What a strange hill to die on,” wrote Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith’s director of research and advocacy.

Many say this about Parrish, who has been the subject of controversy in the past, such as the time she stepped on the doll of then-U.S. President George W. Bush, who was away at war in Iraq.

“Mississauga Mayor Carolyn Parrish is exposing her spinelessness by openly admitting that she follows the advice of her lawyers without question, while recklessly equating Yahya Sinwar with Nelson Mandela,” said the mayor of Hampstead, in the region from Montreal, Jeremy Levi, on X.

“It is remarkable – and deeply disturbing – that someone in a position of leadership would demonstrate such a flagrant lack of courage and judgment,” he continued. “True leaders are guided by principles, not by legal advisors, and certainly not by morally bankrupt comparisons. In a time that demands courage and clarity, Parrish’s stance highlights his shocking lack in both areas.

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Mississauga councilor Matt Mahoney told the Toronto Sun: “Personally, I don’t believe there is or should be any comparison between this individual and the great humanitarian Nelson Mandela, but I encourage you to contact the Mayor Parrish for additional comments and clarification. »

As of this publication, Parrish has not clarified this.

“She should come back quickly,” former Ontario Conservative leader Tim Hudak told John Moore on Newstalk 1010 Thursday morning.

She doesn’t seem to follow this advice.

Instead, she responded “I am always guided by the laws of the land and our attorney’s interpretation of them” and she was simply seeking a ruling on whether or not this vigil is protected by the law. Charter.

The problem with this approach is that the Canadian government itself considers Hamas a “terrorist entity.” And when we consider that this same mayor and this same council decided to maintain the ban on street hockey and other sports on the roads, it is difficult to accept that a group of people celebrating the death of a genocidal murderer is acceptable while road hockey is not. .

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