Tory candidate removing ‘son of a Holocaust survivor‘ in poster

A Conservative MP’s re-election campaign has taken an ugly turn over a contentious piece of personal history.

Mark Adler, member for the Toronto riding of York Centre, claimed to be the first child of a Holocaust survivor to be elected a Member of Parliament.

The assertion appeared in his online bio until it was called into question Monday by an article in the Canadian Jewish News (CJN). It can still be found in the cached version.

In an email to the CJN, former Montreal-area Liberal MP Raymonde Folco called it “disgusting” for Adler “to use the Holocaust in this way, for personal ends.”

Folco’s father escaped from a train bound for the Auschwitz death camp, and both her parents later fought for the French resistance. She told the CJN she never used her background to further her political career, which included serving as an MP from 1997 to 2011.

As of Tuesday Adler’s bio read: “Being a child of a Holocaust survivor, Mark has passionately dedicated his time to raise awareness about discrimination and anti-Semitism throughout the world.”

In an emailed statement Tuesday to Yahoo Canada News, Adler said: “I am proud of my family heritage, and will never forget the sacrifice of my forefathers who faced persecution simply because of their faith. Mme. Folco, like my family, faced unspeakable atrocities, and we will never forget the sombre story that unites our experience. That is why I am doubly resolved to continue to be a steadfast defender of Israel and champion of freedom for those facing persecution in an increasingly insecure world.”

Adler, 53, was first elected to the House of Commons in 2011, when he beat Liberal incumbent Ken Dryden in a riding that is more than one-fifth (22 per cent) Jewish. That made him the first Jewish MP for the Conservative Party.

A photo posted on Twitter over the weekend showed a poster at Adler’s re-election headquarters that read “son of a Holocaust survivor.” That poster was being changed Tuesday, and that line was being removed, according to Adler’s campaign.

Meanwhile, Adler isn’t the only candidate in the riding to invoke that dark part of history.

NDP candidate Dr. Hal Berman’s bio says he was born in Montreal, “where his grandparents and mother arrived to start a new life after the Holocaust.”