The NDP candidate for Charleswood – Stefan Jonasson – Assiniboia – Headingley has stepped down.
Jonasson is out of the running for Charleswood-St. James-Assiniboia- Headingley after comments came to light where he compares the beliefs of one set of Orthodox Jews to the Taliban.
Jonasson claims his words were taken out of context, but has agreed to the New Democrats’ request to step down.
In 2012, Jonasson posted an article and accused the Haredim – a branch of Judaism – of mistreating women by segregating sexes and enforcing strict dress codes. He tweeted the following:
“Much like Taliban and other extremists, the Haredim offer a toxic caricature of faith, at odds with the spirit of the religious tradition they profess to represent…”
The minister at the Unitarian Universalist church was carrying the orange flag against incumbent Conservative candidate Steven Fletcher.
Agencies/Canadajournal