The vice president of Canada's largest union on Thursday rejected calls by the organization's leadership to resign after he published a video on social media of a Jewish Olympic diver turning into an exploding bomb.
Canadian Union of Public Employees’ (CUPE) General Vice President and Ontario CUPE President Fred Hahn said that he was saddened and angered by the CUPE National Executive Board's Tuesday resolution asking him for his resignation, but that he would continue to fight alongside his fellow trade unionists because it was the democratic will of CUPE members who had elected him repeatedly at the provincial and national level.
Hahn said that the union's members should decide such actions and noted that an emergency ceasefire and pro-arms embargo Palestinian solidarity resolution at the CUPE 2023 national convention, and that the provincial branch had also agreed on a statement of Palestinian solidarity at its annual convention in May.
"As has happened to our union in the past, those who spoke up against the actions of the state of Israel last fall were quickly labeled antisemitic and vilified, especially online. I was one of those people. This smear was nothing new to those of us who advocate for the cause of Palestine," said Hahn. "I utterly reject the charge of antisemitism; anyone who knows and works with me knows it to be a lie. It remains my strongly held view that it is a terrible mistake, and antisemitic, to conflate abhorrent actions by the state of Israel with Jewish humanity or identity."
Last Sunday, Hahn issued a retraction for his August 11 Facebook post depicting a Paris Olympics athlete with a Star of David tattoo turning into a bomb and exploding as he dove into a pool, explaining that he had intended to call to a double standard in which the Russian Federation was barred from competing but the State of Israel had been permitted.
'Appalling but not surprising'
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said Tuesday that Hahn hadn't apologized and stated that he only regrated the reaction of viewers, and renewed calls for his resignation on Thursday with an email campaign to CUPE leadership.
"It is appalling but not surprising to see Fred Hahn once again put himself ahead of union members," CIJA said on social media. "Jewish members, CUPE locals, and CUPE National have all called for his immediate resignation. Rather than cling to power, he should do the right thing."
A Hamilton CUPE branch in a Thursday statement called for the immediate resignation or removal of Hahn from the CUPE Ontario presidency, as his "horrific and insensitive" actions had fractured the movement.
A York University academics CUPE chapter on Thursday called for the National Executive Board to reverse their decision, arguing that while they did not support the controversial video, he had apologized.
"The context for the call for his resignation was motivated by Zionists wanting to silence one of the strongest labor movement voices for Palestine, who has been vocally against the white supremacy that also harms those who are Jewish," said CUPE 3903. "Prioritizing Jewish members’ wellbeing is crucial. Denouncing Zionist attacks on Palestinian lives and Palestinian solidarity is fully compatible with that. Criticizing the violent and illegal actions of a state is not hateful."
In his Thursday statement, Hahn denounced attacks by media and Ontario premier Doug Ford, who had called him "disgusting" and urged for his resignation.
CIJA said on Thursday that "since October 7, Hahn's antisemitism and anti-Israel obsession has been made clear."
Hahn had caused controversy soon after the massacre when he liked an X post by a McMaster University workers CUPE branch that quoted a terrorist and praised the Hamas-led pogrom, stating “Palestine is rising, long live the resistance.”