A Jewish group is demanding the resignation of a Quebec mayor who said Israel should not exist.

Members of the Jewish Defense League picketed in front of Huntingdon’s City Hall on Jan. 26 calling on Stephane Gendron to step down as mayor of the small town of 2,600 southwest of Montreal, or be fired.

The mayor’s remarks were “dangerous, inflammatory and un-Canadian,” JDL Canada spokesman Meir Weinstein told the Canadian Press.

Gendron said Israel is an apartheid state and expressed hope for its demise in remarks made Dec. 27 on a daily television show he hosts.

He said “a country like that does not deserve to exist.”

The day after making his inflammatory remarks, Gendron said he was sorry if he offended anyone and he doesn’t want to talk about the issue anymore. “The chapter is now closed,” he said. — jta