|
OTTAWA — Questions are being asked over shocking historic social media posts by a recent hire by Ontario’s largest public service union, describing Adolf Hitler as a “genius” and promoting antisemitic libels. Late last week, a letter was sent to board members of the Ontario Public Service Employees Union (OPSEU) expressing concerns over now-deleted Twitter posts allegedly made by campaign officer Rawan Qaddoura, praising Hitler and repeating racist tropes that the world is controlled by Jews. “I honestly wish I was born at the time of the second world war just to see the genius, Hitler, at work,” Qaddoura allegedly wrote in a January 2012 post on X, formerly Twitter. In a second post six months later, Qaddoura allegedly wrote, “Everytime I read about Hitler, I fall in love all over again.” That was followed by a third post from August 2013, where she quoted a now-deleted X account saying, “the whole world is controlled by Zionist Jews and until you understand that, life will never make sense.” All three tweets were cataloged and archived by online antisemitism watchdog Canary Mission, which has documented Qaddoura’s history of anti-Israel activism. ![]() Archived tweets allegedly made by OPSEU Campaign Officer Rawan Qaddoura OPSEU subject to human rights complaintThe Toronto Sun’s invitations for comment to OPSEU and Qaddoura went unacknowledged as of early Monday afternoon. In her letter to OPSEU board members, a copy of which was viewed by the Sun, Canadian Jewish Labour Committee (CJLC) member Kim Kazur said Qaddoura’s hiring furthers concerns Jewish OPSEU members have with their union. “Ms. Qassoura’s (alleged) posts blatantly call for the elimination of Jewish people from the world and they glorify the genocide perpetrated against Jews during World War 2,” she wrote in her letter. “Let’s also remember that Hitler, whom she (allegedly) calls a ‘genius’ and whom she (allegedly) ‘falls in love with,’ also targeted black people, gay and bisexual men, people with disabilities and political dissenters. How can any member of staff of OPSEU/SEFPO feel safe working with or beside a person with such extremist and hateful public beliefs.” In 2024, Jewish OPSEU members filed a complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario, alleging the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terror attacks introduced a culture where anti-Jewish and antisemitic propaganda are openly advanced, leaving Jewish members feeling marginalized and singled-out. Concerns were also raised after the union, in response to concerns by Jewish members, ignored recommendations from the OPSEU Jewish caucus and hired Independent Jewish Voices, a fringe anti-Zionist organization, to facilitate mandatory antisemitism training. Qaddoura’s hiring ‘concerning’Word of Qaddoura’s alleged tweets sparked concern over the weekend. Former OPSEU Local 103 President Ron Langer took to X to decry her posts, calling them unacceptable. “I am calling on OPSEU to immediately terminate the employment contract of Rawan Qaddoura for social media posts praising Hitler for killing Jews and claiming that Zionist Jews control the whole world,” he wrote on Saturday. “This is unacceptable in any organization & is a human rights violation.” 来源链接:https://torontosun.com/news/national/concern-over-x-posts-expressing-love-for-hitler-calling-nazi-leader-genius |