An image circulating on social media of a man displaying an Ontario licence plate that appears to celebrate the October 7 massacre is real, but was cancelled months ago, the Ontario government has confirmed.
The image shows a man smiling wildly and holding up a licence plate that says OCTOBER7. It was posted to X on Thursday by the account @l3v1at4an, which named the man in the photo as Maher Zitawi, the owner of High Sky Demolition Services in Mississauga, Ont.
When National Post called the business Friday, the man who answered swore profusely but did not answer any questions. When INsauga.com reached out, the man who answered asked if they were calling about the October 7 plate and then replied with “misogynistic remarks,” the news site reported.
A TikTok account under the same name, which features images of the same man in the licence plate photo, first posted the image on Jan. 30. It was posted again on Sept. 24. Other images on the account alternate between images of the man, construction images and photos and videos of anti-Israel protests that have taken place since October 2023.
Hours after the image was shared on X this week, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) responded in a post saying it first learned about the plate being issued in March 2024.
Nicole Amiel, director of media relations and GTA communications at CIJA, told National Post the organization learned about the plate after it first was brought to its attention by a member of the community.
CIJA said in its post they “acted immediately” by contacting Todd McCarthy, Ontario’s minister of public and business service delivery, to look into the incident and take measures to reverse the plate issuing.
Their email to the minister called on the government to “uphold certain standards in society that make every Ontarian feel safe.”
According to ServiceOntario guidelines, “Messages that express contempt, ridicule or superiority of race, religion, ethnic origin, ancestry, place of origin, citizenship, creed, colour, gender, sexual orientation, age, marital status, family status, physical characteristics, disability or political affiliation,” on licence plates are not allowed.
CIJA said the Ontario government responded quickly and took action to invalidate the plate, “making it illegal for it to be used on any vehicle.”
Matthew D’Amico, press secretary in the McCarthy’s office, said in an emailed statement to National Post that the province of Ontario has no tolerance for any form of hate.
“After discovering the licence plate in question, we immediately launched an investigation,” D’Amico wrote. “At the same time, the Minister ordered a comprehensive review of the process to prevent this from happening again.”
D’Amico said the ministry suspended the licence and asked for the plate to be returned.
Amiel also said the situation was resolved immediately and there have not been any issues regarding this case since then.
“This issue was taken care of months and months ago,” she said, “And handled by the government through our advocacy.”
She said CIJA’s recent post was, “meant to let everyone know that this was handled.”
“We urge the public to report any concerning licence plates so we can investigate promptly and thoroughly,” D’Amico said.