COPE, political leaders, and civil society stand with Sean Orr for human rights and his democratic mandate
April 8, 2025
VANCOUVER, BC - On Saturday, COPE City Council candidate Sean Orr was elected with votes from more than 50% of the nearly 68,000 people who waited in lines throughout the city to send a message to Mayor Ken Sim: his billionaire-backed party has lost the trust of the people of Vancouver and we need to change direction.
Sean Orr has been a consistent voice of opposition to fascism, anti-semitism, and all manner of bigotry as part of his role as a writer, advocate, and public figure in Vancouver for over two decades. This was the case as a private citizen, and he will continue as a Councillor.
On Tuesday, Sean Orr issued a statement on the Twitter/X social media platform responding to a bad faith attempt to smear him for his principled opposition to the ongoing war crimes committed by the far-right government of Israel. Mayor Ken Sim has cynically collaborated with this bad-faith attack based on misinformation in an attempt to divide us and distract from his own failures.
The inciting press release, from CIJA, a right-wing Israel advocacy organization which has refused to criticize the far-right president of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu during this horrific war makes two accusations against Councillor-elect Orr based on old tweets. The first criticizes a tweet where Sean was standing up for Jewish people against anti-semitic dogwhistles, by using satire. They intentionally and knowingly removed it from context. Secondly he is criticized for critiquing the far-right government of Israel in their campaign of war crimes and collective punishment. This is their alleged evidence of Sean’s wrongdoing. That he stands up for people who are being harmed. We don’t buy it.
Amnesty International has concluded that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza. Human Rights Watch has condemned Israel’s “war of extermination”, saying they are “intentionally depriving Palestinian civilians there of adequate access to water, most likely resulting in thousands of deaths.” The United Nations has demanded an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, with the UN Deputy Secretary-General calling the situation “appalling and apocalyptic.” The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued arrest warrants for Israel PM Benjamin Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant.
Now political and civil society leaders from across the province and country are coming to Sean Orr’s defense. COPE stands firmly with our candidate and with our progressive platform which voters have given a resounding mandate – a platform that included opposition to anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and all forms of racism.
“Sean Orr promised he would fight for Vancouver and the people in it, and we’re going to deliver on that promise,” said COPE co-chair Shawn Vulliez. “To any people in Vancouver, especially from marginalized and scapegoated communities: COPE and Sean Orr will always fight for you. We are always open to meeting, to discussion, and to dialogue - including to those who have felt harmed by seeing screenshots of online discussions that have been so recklessly weaponized.”
The smears and knowing misrepresentations by CIJA, Ken Sim, and John Rustad have directly contributed to public and private death threats.
“We call on all parties and participants in Vancouver’s democratic institutions to condemn any threats against individuals or communities, and to stop enabling these threats through misrepresentations and lies about our new Councillor,” said Shawn Vulliez, COPE co-chair. “We urge Ken Sim and ABC to respect the message sent by voters and change direction instead of trying to distract and deflect from their failures with these spurious attacks.”
COPE urges right-wing groups like CIJA and ABC to join us in condemning war crimes and violations of international law.
Please see attached the full statement from City Councillor-elect Sean Orr, as well as several of the dozens of statements of solidarity from prominent political and civil leaders and organizations.
Sean Orr is out today at neighbourhood libraries speaking with residents about Ken Sim and ABC’s cuts to libraries and helping organize a fight to restore and extend library hours.
“COPE knew exactly who Sean Orr was, and that’s why we asked him to run for us and fight for Vancouver.” said co-chair Shawn Vulliez today, “People in Vancouver know who Sean is and what he stands for, too. That’s exactly why they voted for him.”
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Contact:
Shawn Vulliez, Co-Chair at COPE
cope@copevancouver.ca
Statements of Support
Libby Davies, former Member of Parliament and former Vancouver City Councillor
“It is sadly so predictable that this smear job against @seanorr happens because he won & dares to speak truth about genocide. Politically motivated smears like this are designed to silence people. It doesn’t work anymore.” (Source)
Independent Jewish Voices
“Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) strongly condemns the disingenuous attacks launched today by the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) against Vancouver City Councillor Sean Orr. [...]
Councillor Orr has shown integrity and courage in condemning Israeli war crimes and speaking out in defence of Palestinian human rights. We need more elected officials like Sean Orr—leaders with the courage to speak uncomfortable truths, resist the politicized weaponization of antisemitism, and uphold universal human rights. Attempts to silence such voices not only betray the victims of war crimes but also distort the true meaning of antisemitism, ultimately undermining the safety and dignity of Jewish communities.” (Source)
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
Sean Orr is being falsely accused of antisemitism for calling out antisemitic conspiracy theories and accusing Israel of genocide (as UN experts and genocide scholars were raising at the time). He deserves an apology for these bad-faith and disgraceful attacks. (source)
Avi Lewis, author, broadcaster and NDP candidate in the riding of Vancouver Centre
“The people of Vancouver just elected Sean - because he takes clear moral stands and doesn't back down. Yeah, he's been provocative, sarcastic and edgy on social media. But the accusations of antisemitism are BS - repeating them won't make them true.” (Full statement)
Sean Orr’s statement, originally posted to X/Twitter on April 7, 2025
In 2021, I sarcastically quoted the comedian David Cross while condemning an antisemitic dogwhistle on Twitter. I was defending Karm Sumal against the claim he was a "globalist shill." I have been outspoken over the years opposing all forms of racism including anti-semitism.
It's unfortunate that this was taken out of context and misrepresented. My platform called out anti-semitism by name & committed to fighting it, along with Islamophobia and other forms of racism. I am always willing to listen if people who feel I can do more for their communities.
Criticizing the far-right Netanyahu govt for committing war crimes against civilian populations is the right thing to do. Criticizing that is not antisemitism. I agree with Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the United Nations, and the International Criminal Court.
In this climate of resurgent fascism and the rise of the far right, we must all be vigilant and stand up against hate. I will always stand up for communities who are attacked or scapegoated.