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VP of Canada’s Largest Union Ignores Increased Demands to Resign After Being Accused of Antisemitism
CUPE Ontario President Fred Hahn. Photo: YouTube screenshot
The general vice president of Canada’s largest union said on Thursday that he will not resign despite demands from the union’s national executive board and a growing number of members that he step down for posting a video on Facebook in early August that has been widely viewed as antisemitic.
“Because I respect the democracy of our union, the choice of our members, I will be here to continue to fight side by side with all of you,” Fred Hahn said in a lengthy statement sent to members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which has 750,000 members.
In a motion passed on Tuesday, CUPE’s national executive board said it “lost confidence” in Hahn’s ability to lead the union as general vice president after he shared a Facebook video on Aug. 11. The clip, which has since been deleted, showed a diver with a Star of David tattoo at the 2024 Olympic Games jumping off a diving board before turning into a bomb that exploded on civilians. The video ended with a message that said, “The athletes of the olympic team of Isreal [sic] has participated in the genocide of the Palestinians as they were a part of the IDF. Shame on them. Shame on the sports. Shame on the world.”
The CUPE leader apologized for his Facebook video on Aug. 18, but doubled down on his criticism of Israel and support for Palestinians in his statement on Thursday. He talked about being an “advocate for the cause of Palestine” and pointed out that he has been repeatedly targeted, “labeled antisemitic and vilified” for “expressing the views of our members in support for Palestine and against genocide.”
Hahn said although CUPE’s board wants him to resign, “because I respect the democracy of our union … the members should decide.” He said demands for his resignation have made him “so sad and so angry.”
“Trade unionists I have come to know and respect voted this week to overturn the democratic decisions of CUPE members,” he noted. “It is unprecedented in our union’s history and I’m worried countless CUPE members who are active in the Palestinian solidarity movement could be left more vulnerable and exposed by the precedent as they face similar situations as work.” He also rejected claims that he is antisemitic.
Hahn — who is the first openly gay labour leader in Ontario, according to the CUPE website — has been vocal about his anti-Israel stance in the past. A day after the Oct. 7 Hamas massacre in Israel, he applauded “the power of resistance” in a post on X/Twitter. He also retweeted a message that said, “Palestine is rising, long live the resistance.” Hahn, who has been a member of CUPE since 1991, has also supported Palestinian efforts to stop Canada from aiding Israel during the ongoing Hamas war.
Photo: Screenshot
CUPE’s National President Mark Hancock told the Toronto Star that because Hahn was elected to the national vice president position, the board cannot simply fire him.
“I have a [CUPE] constitution to live by and firing is … it’s not a job, per se, so it’s different,” Hancock explained. He said he thinks this is the first time the union has felt the need to push for the resignation of a senior leader. Hancock added that if Hahn will not resign on his own, “that’ll be new ground again for CUPE and me as a national president. I will review options available to me.”
Throughout the week, Hahn, who is also president of CUPE Ontario, has faced increased pressure to resign from a growing number of members of his union. The sector of CUPE that represents 10,000 Air Canada flight attendants called for his resignation as well as a local branch in Ontario that represents paramedics, EMS logistics and support staff members in the community of Windsor-Essex. A different CUPE Ontario branch representing more than 4,000 city of Hamilton employees said he also needs to step down as president of CUPE Ontario, a position he’s held since 2009.
“Being part of our union is about being part of a team, and Fred stopped being a team player a long time ago,” said CUPE’s Air Canda Component President Wesley Lesosky in a statement on Thursday. “His reckless comments last October put our members who have to travel to the Middle East as part of their flight duties in the crosshairs and he has never apologized for his role in jeopardizing their safety. Earlier this month he proved he hadn’t learned a thing when he reposted a racist and antisemitic video online. That is not leadership, and that is not what we expect of leaders in our union.”
“This is about whether we think it’s okay for our elected leaders to be sharing harmful views that violate CUPE’s Equality Statement online and repeatedly getting a pass for it,” Lesosky added. “The responsible thing for Fred to do was resign in October after his insensitive remarks that put his fellow CUPE members in harm’s way. The next best thing is for him to resign today.”
An increasing number of Canada-based Jewish groups are also calling on Hahn to resign, including the Center for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA). The advocacy organization said in a statement on Thursday that CUPE needs to take action and “remove Fred Hahn from his position.”
“It is appalling but not surprising to see Fred Hahn once again put himself ahead of union members,” CIJA added. “Since Oct. 7, Hahn’s antisemitism and anti-Israel obsession has been made clear. His insincere apologies won’t cut it anymore. 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.”
In November, the union’s Jewish members filed a complaint against CUPE at the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal for alleged discrimination and promotion of antisemitism, according to the Toronto Star. Kathryn Marshall, a lawyer representing CUPE workers in the complaint, told the publication that more union members have expressed interest in joining the case since Hahn posted the antisemitic Facebook video on Aug. 11.
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Trump’s Travel Ban on 12 Countries Goes Into Effect Early Monday
US President Donald Trump attends the Saudi-US Investment Forum, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Brian Snyder
US President Donald Trump’s order banning citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States goes into effect at 12:01 am ET (0401 GMT) on Monday, a move the president promulgated to protect the country from “foreign terrorists.”
The countries affected by the latest travel ban are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The entry of people from seven other countries – Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela – will be partially restricted.
Trump, a Republican, said the countries subject to the most severe restrictions were determined to harbor a “large-scale presence of terrorists,” fail to cooperate on visa security, have an inability to verify travelers’ identities, as well as inadequate record-keeping of criminal histories and high rates of visa overstays in the United States.
He cited last Sunday’s incident in Boulder, Colorado, in which an Egyptian national tossed a gasoline bomb into a crowd of pro-Israel demonstrators as an example of why the new curbs are needed. But Egypt is not part of the travel ban.
The travel ban forms part of Trump’s policy to restrict immigration into the United States and is reminiscent of a similar move in his first term when he barred travelers from seven Muslim-majority nations.
Officials and residents in countries whose citizens will soon be banned expressed dismay and disbelief.
Chad President Mahamat Idriss Deby Itno said he had instructed his government to stop granting visas to US citizens in response to Trump’s action.
“Chad has neither planes to offer nor billions of dollars to give, but Chad has its dignity and its pride,” he said in a Facebook post, referring to countries such as Qatar, which gifted the U.S. a luxury airplane for Trump’s use and promised to invest billions of dollars in the U.S.
Afghans who worked for the US or US-funded projects and were hoping to resettle in the US expressed fear that the travel ban would force them to return to their country, where they could face reprisal from the Taliban.
Democratic US lawmakers also voiced concern about the policies.
“Trump’s travel ban on citizens from over 12 countries is draconian and unconstitutional,” said US Representative Ro Khanna on social media late on Thursday. “People have a right to seek asylum.”
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Israeli Military Says It Struck Hamas Member in Southern Syria
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron after a meeting at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, May 7, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/Pool
The Israeli military said on Sunday that it struck a member of the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas in southern Syria’s Mazraat Beit Jin, days after Israel carried out its first airstrikes in the country in nearly a month.
Hamas did not immediately comment on the strike.
Israel said on Tuesday it hit weapons belonging to the government in retaliation for the firing of two projectiles towards Israel for the first time under the country’s new leadership. Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz held Syria’s President Ahmed al-Sharaa accountable.
Damascus in response said reports of the shelling were unverified, reiterating that Syria does not pose a threat to any regional party.
A little known group named “Martyr Muhammad Deif Brigades,” an apparent reference to Hamas’ military leader who was killed in an Israeli strike in 2024, reportedly claimed responsibility for the shelling. Reuters, however, could not independently verify the claim.
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Israel Orders Military to Stop Gaza-Bound Yacht Carrying Greta Thunberg
FILE PHOTO: Activist Greta Thunberg sits aboard the aid ship Madleen, which left the Italian port of Catania on June 1 to travel to Gaza to deliver humanitarian aid, in this picture released on June 2, 2025 on social media. Photo: Freedom Flotilla Coalition/via REUTERS/File Photo
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz told the military on Sunday to stop a charity boat carrying activists including Sweden’s Greta Thunberg who are planning to defy an Israeli blockade and reach Gaza.
Operated by the pro-Palestinian Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC), the British-flagged Madleen yacht set sail from Sicily on June 6 and is currently off the Egyptian coast, heading slowly towards the Gaza Strip, which is besieged by Israel.
“I instructed the IDF to act so that the Madleen .. does not reach Gaza,” Katz said in a statement.
“To the antisemitic Greta and her Hamas-propaganda-spouting friends, I say clearly: You’d better turn back, because you will not reach Gaza.”
Climate activist Thunberg said she joined the Madleen crew to “challenge Israel’s illegal siege and escalating war crimes” in Gaza and highlight the urgent need for humanitarian aid. She has rejected previous Israeli accusations of antisemitism.
Israel went to war with Hamas in October 2023 after the Islamist terrorists launched a surprise attack on southern Israel, killing more 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages back to the enclave.
Katz said the blockade was essential to Israel’s national security as it seeks to eliminate Hamas.
“The State of Israel will not allow anyone to break the naval blockade on Gaza, whose primary purpose is to prevent the transfer of weapons to Hamas,” he said.
The Madleen is carrying a symbolic quantity of aid, including rice and baby formula, the FFC has said.
FFC press officer Hay Sha Wiya said on Sunday the boat was currently some 160 nautical miles (296 km) from Gaza. “We are preparing for the possibility of interception,” she said.
Besides Thunberg, there are 11 other crew members aboard, including Rima Hassan, a French member of the European Parliament.
Israeli media have reported that the military plans to intercept the yacht before it reaches Gaza and escort it to the Israeli port of Ashdod. The crew would then be deported.
In 2010, Israeli commandos killed 10 people when they boarded a Turkish ship, the Mavi Marmara, that was leading a small flotilla towards Gaza.
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