OP-ED: Fred Hahn’s CUPE exit follows years of antisemitism
"After more than two years of shamelessly doubling down on his Israel hate and anti-Semitism, Hahn has announced he won’t be running for the coveted president’s job in May."
It seems the jig is up — at long last — for CUPE Ontario president Fred Hahn.
After more than two years of shamelessly doubling down on his Israel hate and anti-Semitism — openly ignoring the pain of his Jewish members — Hahn has announced he won’t be running for the coveted president’s job in May.
As is typical of leftists like him, he claims that he’s fought against bullies all his life, of course, totally ignoring the harm he’s done to his Jewish members with his rabid anti-Semitism.
Considering the pay and perqs that come with the job—one he’s enjoyed for 20 years — I’m certain this was done to save face.
After being ousted from the national caucus last fall, he no doubt saw the writing on the wall–that his members and the executive are plain tired of his antics.
For many who called for his resignation two years ago — including me — it is two years too late.
I certainly can’t forget his tweet one day after the terrible atrocities on Oct. 7/23 in Israel when 1,200 innocents were butchered, raped and burned by Hamas terrorists.
I am reliving what people experienced and how they are traumatized to this day as I listen to an Audible version of commentator Douglas Murray’s Democracies and Death Cults.
Yet Hahn celebrated the power of resistance, saying he was thankful that #Resistance is fruitful.
In other words, he said he was thankful for the terrorist massacre that occurred the day before
Hahn’s tweet raised the ire of many and he was forced to issue what ended up being a half-hearted apology.
He was back at it the following summer when he posted a video on his Facebook page showing a diver with a Star of David on his arm who jumps off the board, somersaults in the air and then turns into a bomb as he heads towards the water.
Again he was forced to apologize.
At the time CUPE’s national executive board voted to ask Hahn to resign from his role as general vice-president.
Ontario’s Labour Minister David Piccini even confronted Hahn at a conference in Ottawa, telling him he should resign. At a press conference later that week, Premier Doug Ford said he approved of Piccini’s attack and called Hahn a “disgusting human being.”
Hahn had already won re-election as CUPE Ontario president in May of 2024.
Even though 80 CUPE Ontario Jewish and non-Jewish members had signed on to a human rights complaint against Hahn in November of 2023, he continued to double down and thumb his nose at the growing disgust with respect to his anti-Semitic acts.
His defence — filed in March of 2024 — claimed the union’s positions on Israel and Palestine were “developed over years through democratic processes– resolutions brought forward, debated and voted on through a democratic process by delegates at CUPE conventions.”
He appeared at many anti-Israel protests sporting his keffiyeh (terror scarf) and cozied up to MPP Sarah Jama, kicked out of the NDP caucus over her Jew hatred.
He continued to post tweets on X, spreading hate and misinformation about the Israeli-Hamas conflict and which equated Israel with Nazi Germany.
He spoke in support of a pro-terrorist encampment at the University of Toronto in the summer of 2024 and posted a selfie showing him raising his fist and clutching a sign reading “Disclose and Divest.”
For his part, Hahn insisted that it was a “lie” to accuse him of being an anti-Semite, saying that it was a terrible mistake to conflate Israel’s actions with Jewish identity.
Those words suggest how ignorant he truly is. Israel is the Jewish state.
Hahn, who was also the first openly gay CUPE president, repeatedly found himself on the wrong side of issues and in his role as CUPE leader.
He repeatedly served as an activist supporting radical left-wing causes instead of doing what a union president should be doing – fighting for wages, benefits and decent working conditions.
He seemed to think he was above that.
He was highly invested in trans ideology – often appearing at protests sporting a bright pink t-shirt. He also supported Black Lives Matter.
The lawyer who has led the human rights claim against him celebrated his decision to step down. But quickly emphasized that his decision will not affect their court case.
Like Marshall, I look forward to seeing the bully defend himself in court without CUPE to support him.
I certainly hope he won’t be permitted to simply walk away from his despicable behaviour of the past two years.
Shame on the members who kept this guy in as President for 20 years!!
Great news! Should have happened 2 years earlier.