Har Elders Seniors’ Lunches are back! 
Join us once a month on Wednesday at noon for seniors' lunch!
It's an opportunity to catch up with friends, listen to an interesting talk and have a tasty lunch together. 
Please contact Har El's office by phone or email if have any questions, or need assistance with registration or transportation.

Join us for this month's lunch with guest speaker Selina Robinson:
“TRUTH BE TOLD” - a Memoir

Selina Robinson was a senior minister in British Columbia’s government, helping guide the province through an unprecedented pandemic and overseeing a successful economic recovery.  Then came October 7, 2023, and a global tsunami of antisemitism.  Robinson – one of Canada’s most prominent Jewish elected officials – was instantly in the sights of anti-Israel and antisemitic activists.  In her searing, powerful memoir, TRUTH BE TOLD, Robinson reflects on the antisemitism she experienced in government and the silence of colleagues who betrayed the values she thought they shared.  TRUTH BE TOLD is more than a personal testimony.  It is a cautionary story of the dangers to multiculturalism and democracy when leaders fold in the face of coercion, place expediency above principles, refuse to stand against antisemitism, and silence the only person with the courage to speak out,  TRUTH BE TOLD is Robinson’s invitation for readers to engage in genuine progressive work to end racism and advance peace for all.

You can find TRUTH BE TOLD on Amazon or selinarobinson.ca.

Selina Robinson was born in Montreal and moved to the Vancouver area with her family as a teenager. She holds a master’s degree in counselling psychology from Simon Fraser University and has been a family counsellor.

She and her husband, Dan, have two adult children and live in Coquitlam, British Columbia.

Robinson held senior positions in a range of social service agencies before entering public life, in 2008. In that year, she became a City Councillor in Coquitlam, BC and was re-elected in the following election, topping the polls.

In 2013, Robinson was elected as the New Democratic Party Member of the British Columbia’s Legislative Assembly for Coquitlam-Maillardville. After serving in senior roles as an opposition critic, she was appointed Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing, with additional responsibilities for TransLink, when the NDP formed government in 2017.

After the 2020 election, Premier John Horgan appointed Robinson Minister of Finance, where she helped guide the province’s economy through the COVID pandemic, resulting in successive surplus budgets.

In 2022, the new Premier David Eby appointed Robinson Minister of Post-Secondary Education and Future Skills.

Robinson, who dubbed herself “the Jew in the Crew,” was one of the most prominent Jewish elected officials in Canada. After the terrorist attacks of October 7, 2023, and skyrocketing antisemitism worldwide, Robinson found herself targeted by anti-Israel activists.

After a webinar in early 2024, in which Robinson referred to the territory on which Israel was founded as “a crappy piece of land,” she became the centre of a political firestorm, in which activists and a group of Muslim clergy demanded her resignation. She was subjected to online harassment, including a credible death threat, and her constituency office was vandalized with antisemitic graffiti.

Less than a week after making those remarks, Robinson was fired from BC’s cabinet by Premier David Eby, who said she could not continue with her responsibilities due to the “depth of work” she had to do to repair the harm caused by her comments.

Her book TRUTH BE TOLD is that deep work.

This event is by donation, we kindly recommend a $10 donation.