Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow has made her priorities clear.

This week, Chow posted a video of herself dressed in full Islamic dress, wishing Toronto's Muslim community Eid Mubarak and declaring that “Islamophobia has no place in Toronto.”

She also formally recognized Bangla town, celebrating the Bengali community's culture, heritage and language.

But when Israel asked her to join the Walk for Israel? Silence.

Sheila Gunn Reid noted the contrast on Monday's Rebel Roundup livestream.

Chow previously called Israel's independence day flag raising “divisive” and refused to attend. She did show up — briefly — for the menorah lighting at Hanukkah, but only after the controversy over skipping it became too loud to ignore.

Chow is the NDP mayor of Toronto, and the NDP's position on Israel is no secret. Their federal and provincial representatives routinely march in Nakba Day rallies — “Nakba” being the Arabic word for “catastrophe,” which is what they call Israeli independence day.

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Meanwhile, in Hamilton, a Chabad synagogue was targeted by Hamas supporters on Shabbat. The graffiti read: “Death to genocidal Israel.”

Sheila was blunt about what that means. “If this is strictly about Israel's foreign policy, why are you targeting synagogues in Hamilton?” she said. “You're not at the consulate. You're at the church. You're at the seniors' home.”

The answer, she said, isn't complicated: it's antisemitism. The motivation isn't mysterious; it's the lies told about that motivation that should concern Canadians.

And the media, she noted, is more than happy to run with those lies unchallenged.