The president of CUPE Ontario dismissed concerns expressed by Jewish union members over his latest problematic social media post.
On Sunday, CUPE Ontario president Fred Hahn shared a video on his public Facebook account, depicting an AI-generated Olympic diver — wearing a Star of David on his arm — leaping from the springboard before turning into a bomb and falling on houses, purportedly criticism of Israel’s ongoing campaign to eradicate Hamas terrorists from Gaza.
“All eyes are on the diver from the Israeli team as he is approaching the end of the diving platform,” says an AI-generated voiceover.
No Israeli divers competed in the Paris Games.
Jewish CUPE member Carrie Silverberg was shocked upon viewing the video.
“In my wildest dreams, I did not expect to see what I saw,” she told the Toronto Sun.
“I think I actually started crying, the emotion and sadness of how he continues to portray Jewish people — this isn’t about the Israeli army or (Benjamin) Netanyahu or the government, this is about Jews.”
Hahn gained infamy for a tweet made one day after the Oct. 7 terror attacks, which saw Hamas terrorists conduct a campaign of murder, kidnappings and sexual assault.
“As we all think about reasons to be thankful this #thanksgiving2023, I know I’m thankful for the power of workers, the power of resistance around the globe,” Hahn tweeted on Oct. 8.
“Because #Resistance is fruitful and no matter what some might say, #Resistance brings progress, and for that, I’m thankful.”
That tweet prompted a furious response from numerous CUPE members and locals, including former federal labour minister Seamus O’Regan, who described Hahn’s comments as a “glorification of violence.”
Fellow Jewish CUPE member Paula Haras said the video left her feeling numb.
“It’s such a false representation of what’s happening,” she said.
“It makes me feel like he’s portraying Jews as villains now. Everyone in my union sees me, as a Jewish person, as a villain because he’s planting seeds of hate.”
Accusations of systemic discrimination prompted a group of Jewish CUPE members to lodge a human rights complaint against their union.
“If you want to criticize the government, go for it — that’s not anti-Semitic,” Silverberg said.
“But (Hahn’s post) is blaming every Jew for any person that’s being killed in the war that Jews didn’t start. That’s anti-Semitic.”
In a statement to the Toronto Sun, Hahn dismissed his members’ concerns and — while accusing Israel of conducting genocide in Gaza — said the union’s position on Israel was democratically voted on at the union’s convention in June.
“Criticism of the actions of the state of Israel is not anti-Semitic,” Hahn said.
“That’s the core of our union’s response in a process working its way through the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario and it reflects a view that’s shared more widely every day.”