Statement from Ontario PC Leader Patrick Brown Commemorating Tisha B’av

“Today at sundown, our Jewish friends and neighbours in Ontario and around the world commemorate the beginning of Tisha B’av—marking an annual day of mourning, fasting, and remembrance of tragic events in the life of the Jewish people.

“Historically, Tisha B’av recounts the destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem in 586 BC by the Babylonians. More than six hundred years later on the same date, the Romans destroyed the Second Temple of Jerusalem in 70 AD.

“Tisha B’av also commemorates a number of other significant and tragic events in the history of the Jewish people, including the destruction of Jerusalem, the expulsions of the Jewish community from England in 1290 and the deportations of Jews from the Warsaw Ghetto in 1942. This day also mourns the commencement of the barbaric and murderous “Final Solution” during the Second World War.

“Today, we reflect on these horrific events and renew our call to promote and defend freedom around the world.”