The federal NDP has ejected its candidate in a Halifax-area riding over comments she made last year on social media comparing Israel to Nazi Germany.

Rana Zaman, a social activist and Muslim who has spoken publicly about fighting Islamophobia, won the NDP nomination in Dartmouth-Cole Harbour in early May. She was ousted last week after several tweets surfaced from last spring in which she condemned the killing of Palestinians by Israeli forces during protests in Gaza.

“Unfortunately, due to language in social posts that was unacceptable, the candidate for Dartmouth-Cole Harbour has been removed as the NDP candidate,” said NDP national director Melissa Bruno in a statement. “We expect our candidates to engage on important issues respectfully.”

The riding, currently represented by Liberal MP Darren Fisher, has seesawed between the Liberals and the NDP for the past three decades. Bruno said the NDP is setting up a new nomination process.

In a series of tweets posted between June 2 and June 4, 2018, Zaman voiced her outrage at the shooting of Palestinian protesters. “If Israel is so advanced then why can’t they avoid shooting defenceless paramedics and journalists, unless they’re killing innocent people deliberately!” she wrote on June 3. “Israel’s injustice and arrogance can no longer be defended and people are are wise to Israel’s tired old rhetoric.”

If Israel is so advanced then why can’t they avoid shooting defenceless paramedics and journalists, unless they’re killing innocent people deliberately! Israel’s injustice and arrogance can no longer be defended and people are are wise to Israel’s tired old rhetoric. — Rana ZamanNDP (@ranazamanNS) June 4, 2018 She later accused Israel of committing genocide against Palestinians. “Thousands of Israelis came into Palestine and were welcomed when the world turned them away,” she wrote on June 4. “Where’s your heart?” Thousands of Israelis came into Palestine and were welcomed when the world turned them away. Now they’re committing genocide against Palestinians because Israel is not willing to share! Tell me what are Palestinians supposed to do..just die..oh wait!They are!! Where’s your heart? — Rana ZamanNDP (@ranazamanNS) June 4, 2018

In another, apparently deleted tweet, which B’nai Brith Canada captured in a screenshot, Zaman compared Israel’s actions to the Holocaust. “I wonder if #Israel borrowed this from the #Nazis after they saw how successful they were?” she wrote. “At the speed Israel is killing I wonder if they’re aiming higher than 6 million #Palestinians ? #Gaza is the new #Auschwitz and #Israeli the gatekeepers!”

In a statement, B’nai Brith Canada CEO Michael Mostyn commended the NDP for cancelling Zaman’s candidacy. “There can be no room for antisemitism in the NDP, or any serious Canadian political party,” he said.

The organization referred to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, adopted this week by the federal government in its new anti-racism strategy, which includes “drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis” as an example of modern antisemitism.

Zaman has also expressed support for the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement, and has often referred to Israel in social media posts as an apartheid state.

In an apology posted to Twitter last Friday, Zaman said she had “reached out to leaders and friends in the Jewish community from different groups to ask for their input and advice,” and said she appreciates that her comments referencing the Nazis were “inappropriate, hurtful and sadly may be perceived as antisemitic.”

She said she respects “all people regardless of colour, religion and ethnicity,” and would not compare Israeli actions to Nazi Germany in the future. Zaman declined to comment further to the National Post.

This is the apology I’m sending to media. pic.twitter.com/7N1DWnabq7 — Rana ZamanNDP (@ranazamanNS) June 22, 2019

Zaman has previously spoken publicly about Islamophobic online comments she had received since being named the NDP candidate for Dartmouth-Cole Harbour. “How terrible Muslims are, you’re terrible people, you don’t belong here, we don’t want your kind,” she told Global News in May, describing the comments. In March, she wrote an op-ed in the wake of the New Zealand mosque shootings about how to recognize and fight Islamophobia.

In a statement condemning Zaman’s removal, Independent Jewish Voices, an organization that supports the BDS movement, said her apology “showed her commitment to learning from her Jewish allies.” The organization claims the NDP is “betraying its progressive roots by allowing itself to be manipulated by the Israel lobby and throwing a progressive woman of colour under the bus.”

The NDP told the Post on Thursday that the IHRA definition of antisemitism “could be a threat for people who legitimately denounce grave human rights abuses by the government of Israel against Palestinians.”

However, that position seems to run counter to the NDP’s conclusions following a recent study of online hate by the House of Commons justice committee. In its supplementary report, the NDP said the government should “standardize the definition of hate speech and its interpretation by law enforcement” using definitions including the IHRA definition of antisemitism.