Victoria Liberal candidate Cheryl Thomas is dropping out of the race after comments made on social media about Israel and mosques resurfaced Wednesday.
In a statement on Thomas’ Facebook page, she apologized for the comments stating they are “offensive and have no place in our political discourse. I want to apologize particularly to the Jewish and Muslim communities for these insensitive statements,” she wrote.
Thomas, who worked in the Middle East, posted on Facebook in 2014 saying “the oppressed of the Warsaw ghettos and the concentration camps have become the oppressors, keeping the Palestinians who are left in their “homeland” in ghettoes.”
In 2013, she said mosques are being used as brainwashing stations.
In another post, Thomas wrote Santa Clause “has to be white!!! You can’t have a brown guy with a beard sneaking into your house in the middle of the night! You’d be calling the bomb squad.”
The comments were uncovered by The True North Times, a satirical website.
Thomas said the comments have become a distraction from the real issues of the campaign.
“Anyone who knows me, knows that I have utmost respect for all religions and communities and those post comments do not truly reflect who I am,” she said in the statement. “As someone who has worked in the Middle East and interacted with the various communities, I know firsthand that my comments were inappropriate.”
Thomas will close the campaign office and end all political activities.
She isn’t the first to resign over comments made on social media in this federal election.
Two days ago, Liberal candidate Maria Manna running in the Cowichan-Malahat-Langford riding also resigned after expressing skepticism about the Sept. 11 attacks in the U.S.
