A branch of the Canadian Union of Public Employees,
CUPE Local 3906, has deleted a social media message it had posted a day earlier to celebrate Palestine “resistance” following terrorist attacks by Hamas in Israel that killed over 350 people.
“Palestine is rising, long live the resistance,” the union local, which represents academic workers including research assistants and sessional faculty at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario,
posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Oct. 7.
The post, which the union local has since deleted as of Oct. 8, included a quote attributed to Ghassan Kanafani, a deceased Palestinian author who belonged to the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine.
The quote reads, “Everything in this world can be robbed and stolen, except one thing; this one thing is the love that emanates from a human being towards a solid commitment to a conviction or cause.”
In the same tweet, the union shared a social media post showing the video of a tractor tearing down fencing, with the author of the post, Nadi Abusaada, writing, “Colonialism stifles imagination. Today, as Palestinians break down colonial barriers, they breathe life into the dream of an open, liberated geography.”
Melissa Lantsman, deputy leader of the Conservative Party and member of Parliament for Thornhill,
called the post “just vile.”
“A Canadian union celebrating terrorism,” Ms. Lantsman wrote on X.
Author and psychologist Jordan Peterson also weighed in on the CUPE Local 3906 post,
stating on X, “The most vicious purveyors of hatred toward the Jews cloak themselves in sentiment and the pretence of sympathy for the ‘oppressed.’”
Lianne Rood, Conservative MP for Lambton-Kent-Middlesex,
asked on X, “How can a Canadian union support the brutality of Hamas terrorists?”
“This is absolutely disgusting,” added Ms. Rood, who also serves as shadow minister for federal economic development for Eastern, Central, and Southern Ontario.
Union Represents Academics
CUPE Local 3906, which
describes itself as representing more than 3,000 “precarious academic workers” in three bargaining units at McMaster University, is headed by
Vic Wojciechowska as president, according to a cached
screenshot of the union’s website, which has since
removed the “Executive and Staff” listing page.
The union did not respond to requests for comment by The Epoch Times by press time.
David Sweet, a former Conservative MP for the riding of Flamborough-Glanbrook in Hamilton, tweeted on X that he had “worked with the leadership at McMaster University for years.”
“I am anxiously awaiting a clear and unequivocal statement of condemnation of this outrageous announcement from the resident local,” wrote Mr. Sweet on Oct. 7.
The
Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), which represents Jewish federations across Canada, also condemned the stance taken by the union,
stating on X on Oct. 7, “A chapter of a major Canadian union is celebrating the murder & kidnapping of innocent civilians, and quoting a leader of a Canadian-listed terrorist organization in doing so.”
“This is disgusting, unacceptable, and warrants immediate condemnation” by CUPE’s national office, CIJA said.
President of CUPE Ontario, Fred Hahn,
reacted to the tweet from McMaster CUPE Local 3906 on social media platform X with a Like.
Mr. Hahn also reposted a tweet from Jewish Voice for Peace, which
read, “The Israeli government may have just declared war, but its war on Palestinians started over 75 years ago. Israeli apartheid and occupation—and United States complicity in that oppression—are the source of all this violence.”
One of the other posts Mr. Hahn
retweeted stated, “Israel has spent the past 75 years committing apartheid and genocide against the Palestinian people so no this was not an ‘unprovoked attack.’ This was an act of resistance against a brutal occupying force.”
An individual identifying himself as a member of the union
wrote on X that he was “ashamed” to be part of the union.
“How can you allow a local to support a terrorist attack? This post needs to be removed immediately. Unacceptable,” said Jon Ceballos.
CUPE Ontario did not return requests for comment by press time.
McMaster University Reacts
In an Oct. 7 statement posted on X, McMaster University
said: “The attacks this weekend have had a terrible impact on people in the university’s community. Our thoughts are with our students, faculty and staff, both Israeli and Palestinian, who have family and loved ones in the area.”
In a
statement on its website on Oct. 7 titled “Violence is never a solution,” the school said: “McMaster University is shocked and disappointed at the comments made by CUPE Local 3906 regarding this violence.
“While CUPE Local 3906, which represents Teaching Assistants, Research Assistants in lieu, Sessional Faculty and Post-Doctoral Fellows, is an independent group with the right to express its views, the university is in disagreement with any statement condoning violence.”
