Editor's note: The video attached to this article contains strong language that may not be suitable for some readers. The following story has also been updated to include comments from the Downtown BIA.
A brief but highly charged interaction caught on video in downtown Barrie last week has gone viral.
Barrie resident Madi Foglia, 18, was putting up posters of “missing and kidnapped Israeli children” on Wednesday, Oct. 25, in connection to the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, when she says she noticed a woman removing them, so she confronted her.
When the woman — later identified as Downtown Barrie BIA employee Sarah Jensen, who works as its communications and public realm co-ordinator — was asked why she was removing the posters, she said they did not “bring light to the other side of the situation at all.”
“I had been walking back to check where the posters I had originally put up were to see if anybody had taken them down, because I had seen videos of people doing that,” Foglia told BarrieToday. “I asked her what (she) was doing.
"I immediately knew to start recording because of how I had seen other interactions go. They’d gotten violent ... It was very disheartening to see that somebody would do such a thing," Foglia added.
At the time of the interaction, Foglia said she was unaware who she was speaking to, but after her video was shared through various social media platforms, she learned the woman she confronted was Jensen.
When contacted by BarrieToday, Jensen declined an interview request. However, she has posted a statement on her Facebook page, saying her actions that day were her own and done on her own time outside of work, and do not reflect on the Downtown Barrie BIA, its board or members.
“The conflict in Israel and Palestine has been all over the news and social media lately and, like many others, I’ve felt overwhelmed by it at times," Jensen said in the post.
"My emotions got the better of me when I was faced with dozens of posters of kidnapped Israeli citizens posted in downtown Barrie," she added. "I took some of those posters down and was subsequently confronted and filmed by the person who had put them up. I didn’t act out of hate, but I acted rashly and didn’t consider that my actions would cause hurt to Jewish people in our community."
Jensen apologized "to everyone who feels outraged or unsafe because of my actions. And I apologize for the disrespect that my actions showed towards the victims and their families. My actions were wrong and divisive, and in hindsight I see that they only worsened the situation.”
After reading Jensen’s apology, Foglia says she feels it is Jensen’s actions, and not her words, that speak the loudest.
“I feel she is only saying that because she got caught. Everybody acts so proudly until there are consequences,” Foglia said. “It was very disheartening. These are the people who are supposed to have your best interest in mind. They are supposed to be there for the community and she’s supposed to represent the downtown community.”
On Friday, Oct. 27, the Downtown Barrie BIA posted a brief statement on the blog portion of its website noting it was looking into the incident.
“The Downtown Barrie BIA, as an independent organization, does not condone violence in any manner to any human for any circumstance," it says. "While the actions of an employee of the BIA were conducted outside of formal work hours, due to the serious nature of the circumstances, an internal investigation has been undertaken. A further statement will be issued upon completion of the investigation."
On Wednesday afternoon, Downtown Barrie BIA executive director Craig Stevens said the organization is currently working through its investigation.
Coun. Craig Nixon, who represents the downtown and sits on the BIA board, also said he is waiting on those results.
“Since this is an ongoing confidential HR (human resources) issue and is currently being investigated I am unable to comment at this time,” he said Wednesday morning. “I can say that I am awaiting the results of the investigation at which time the board will meet and decide on appropriate actions to be taken.”
Foglia says the response from the Downtown Barrie BIA is simply too little too late.
“When I attempted to reach out to them, they didn’t speak to me. They actually blocked me,” Foglia said, adding she believes they are in "damage control" mode.
“For them to shut it down, only to release a statement days later rather than an immediate condemnation … it felt like they were trying to limit the exposure to the immediate downtown community," Foglia added.
Foglia estimates she’s put up upwards of 400 posters around the city in recent weeks, and says she doesn’t have plans to stop anytime soon.
The recent interaction left her feeling upset and angry, but also says it has also strengthened her resolve.
“The Jewish community, our voices are being ignored," Foglia said.
She says she eventually returned to the downtown library to print off more posters and headed back downtown with friends to replace the ones that had been removed.
"Clearly there is an issue with people feeling offended. The posters didn’t mention Palestine at all. They didn’t mention Israel. They mentioned Hamas," she said. "The posters were not one-sided. I told her (to) put up her own posters … if she wanted I’d have helped. She can put up her own posters for the missing (and) murdered Palestinian children, but these were my posters. Hamas is a terrorist group.”
— With files from Bob Bruton
