The president of Ontario’s largest union has apologized for a social media post last week in which he compared Jewish people to terrorists, depicting a Jewish diver as a suicide bomber.
Fred Hahn, President of CUPE Ontario, who is known for his sympathy towards far-left Antifa radicals, deleted his August 11 Facebook repost. The post featured an image of a man with the Star of David on his arm diving into a pool, transforming into a bomb as he landed among civilians.
Hahn apologized for the post, stating that he did not intend to compare Jewish civilians to terrorists but aimed to criticize the State of Israel for what he described as genocide amid the war with Gaza.
“I have removed it from my feed because I deeply regret any such reaction,” Hahn posted on Sunday.
Several organizations are now calling for Hahn to resign. Last year, Hahn “liked” a post on X issued by CUPE 3906, which expressed support for Palestine just two days after October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists attacked Israeli civilians. In response to the violence, CUPE issued a statement supporting Palestinians “rising.”
CUPE subsequently released an official statement condemning the Hamas attack on Israel, though it referred to Hamas as “fighters” rather than using the term “terrorist.” The union also declared that Palestinians have a right to defend themselves through “armed struggle.”
CUPE represents approximately 700,000 workers across Canada.
