Jewish city councillor accuses grocer of sharing threatening content online, wants mayor to rescind BIZ award
A city councillor is publicly accusing a local business leader of sharing 'disturbing, threatening content' online.
However, the business leader said those accusations are 'entirely false and misleading.'
On Sunday, Coun. Sherri Rollins sent an open letter to Mayor Scott Gillingham, which accuses Food Fare manager Ramsey Zeid of sharing a video with 'thinly veiled calls to violence.'
'In it, people like me — Jewish, Zionist, and in public office — are portrayed as enemies to be 'dealt with,'' wrote Rollins.
The councillor also accused Zeid of previously helping spread online a picture of herself and her daughter on a public list targeting Zionists.
'While I support free speech … I do think there are consequences,' said Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry), in an interview.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES
Coun. Sherri Rollins sent an open letter to Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham accusing Food Fare manager Ramsey Zeid of sharing a video with 'thinly veiled calls to violence.'
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES
Coun. Sherri Rollins sent an open letter to Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham accusing Food Fare manager Ramsey Zeid of sharing a video with 'thinly veiled calls to violence.'
She said city council members have received complaints about the matter, with some people questioning a Mayor's BIZ Zone award given to Zeid's company, Maryland Food Fare, earlier this month.
In her letter, she urged the mayor to rescind the award.
'When (this) honour is given to Mr. Zeid while he continues to share content calling for escalation and destruction, it is not a neutral act,' she wrote.
'While I support free speech … I do think there are consequences.'–Coun. Sherri Rollins
The video, which has been shared widely online, begins with a masked person specifically calling for action against Zionists. It accuses Zionists of violence, colonialism, land theft and occupation, at one point calling them 'demonic.'
It suggests 'non-peaceful revolutions are often required' and groups around the world should 'step up.'
In a written statement, Ramsey Zeid said he is now seeking legal advice to challenge 'entirely false and misleading statements about my stance and character uttered against me by Coun. Rollins.'
'It's no secret that most Manitobans are aghast at the situation in Gaza. We watch the terrible violence and are saddened and sickened by the images of civilian death. I am, too. I will always stand against unjust war, against human suffering, and against every form of hate and intolerance,' wrote Zeid.
Tens of thousands of people have died in the war in Gaza since it began with Hamas militants' early morning incursion into Israel in October 2023 in which 1,200 civilians were slaughtered and another 250 were taken hostage.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES
Maryland Food Fare manager Ramsey Zeid, which received a Mayor's BIZ Zone award earlier this month.
MIKAELA MACKENZIE / FREE PRESS FILES
Maryland Food Fare manager Ramsey Zeid, which received a Mayor's BIZ Zone award earlier this month.
Meanwhile, Zeid said he was honoured to receive a Mayor's BIZ award for his work.
'I was nominated by my colleagues in the business community because they know that I've always tried, to the best of my abilities, to help those who need it, especially in a time of rising poverty here affecting my fellow Winnipeggers,' he wrote.
In an email, Winnipeg Police Service confirmed it is looking into the video itself.
'I can confirm the Winnipeg Police Service is currently investigating the video being circulated online calling for global violent 'intifada.' These types of investigation are complicated and take time to investigate. No specific individual is being linked to this video at this time,' the statement said.
When asked if he will grant Rollins' request to rescind the award, Gillingham said the BIZ award was given to a business, not an individual, and followed a nomination from the West Broadway BIZ.
'Coun. Rollins sits on that biz board. So, if she's got a concern with the nomination, she should talk to her fellow board members and the executive director,' he said.
The mayor said he saw the video Rollins mentioned and found it 'concerning,' though he didn't comment on who may have shared it.
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'My understanding is that that's with the police right now,' he said.
The mayor stressed hate speech is never acceptable.
'There is no room for antisemitism in the city. I've been clear on that before. There's no room for the rhetoric that would incite antisemitism or Islamophobia, for that matter, as well,' said Gillingham.
joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca
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Joyanne PursagaReporter
Joyanne is city hall reporter for the Winnipeg Free Press. A reporter since 2004, she began covering politics exclusively in 2012, writing on city hall and the Manitoba Legislature for the Winnipeg Sun before joining the Free Press in early 2020. Read more about Joyanne.
Every piece of reporting Joyanne produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press's tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press's history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.
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