Suddenly the labour movement has a hero. An unexpected one.
If not a hero, then a leader.
If not a leader, then a person who with the backing of 170,000 union members and friends of the labour movement has earned the mandate to actually lead in the struggle (in Canada) against Israel’s genocide. This despite his union’s national executive betraying him.
Fred Hahn said no; he would not resign from his position as General Vice-President of CUPE (Canadian Union of Public Employees) Ontario President –as demanded by the national executive board. Three months ago, Hahn was re-elected as CUPE Ontario president. Now the right, lead by pro-Israel forces within and outside his union are demanding he resign because of his vocal support for Palestinian human rights.
Make no mistake – Hahn is not antisemitic as the right-wing media claims. Hahn’s the poster person for building solidarity with the Palestinian cause. He’s stood up to the pro-Israel lobby groups across this country and said “I will not resign” – and he cannot be silenced.
Below: From the River to the Sea is a 2021 painting by Sliman Mansour [Courtesy of Sliman Mansour]; Rituals under Under Occupation by Sliman Mansour [Courtesy of Sliman Mansour] and finally Palestinian refugee school children sit by a wall painting featuring Palestinian writer Ghassan Kanafani, assassinated by Israel in 1972, in the Dheisheh refugee camp in the outskirts of Bethlehem on January 4, 2001 [Yannis Behrakis/Reuters]
Right now, Hahn is in a strong position. He remains the head of one of the biggest public sector unions in Ontario.
Now is the time for CUPE to lead the fight against the censorship and reign of civil terror against those, inside the trade union movement, but also outside of it, who refuse to excuse Israel for its genocide against Palestinians. Dozens and dozens of professionals, doctors, journalists, and students across this country have lost jobs, lost career opportunities, been disciplined and fired for speaking up for Palestine.
Since Oct 7, my newsletter has identified many Canadians who dared to stand up – but didn’t have the backing or the organizational support to win their battles against the establishment’s very strong pro-Israel forces. And most of the people who suffered loss of jobs are people of colour.
The latest is Birju Dattani. Born in Calgary, Dattani is Muslim; his parents emigrated from Uganda. In 2022, he applied for the position as CEO of the Canadian Human Rights Commission. This is a high profile and responsible job. I’m sure his application was examined with a fine tooth comb. Dattani had the academic qualifications and the professional experience necessary. Two years later, in June 2024, Canada’s Minister of Justice Arif Virani announced Dattani was appointed as CEO, and would start his term on August 8.
The Troika campaigned viciously against Dattani
But when the announcement came, immediately the three major pro-Israel Jewish organisations in Canada decided to go after him and ensure he never stepped into the role. The three organizations (or the Troika) are B’nai Brith Canada (BBC), Friends of the Simon Wiesenthal Center (FSWC) and Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA). The three organizations denounced him saying he had associations with pro-Palestinian groups while he was a student in the UK. The Troika accused him of being antisemitic and hating Jews. The federal government launched a full investigation into his background and political views. The report stated Dattani was neither antisemitic, nor a racist, nor a fundamentalist nor a terrorist. In fact the investigators wrote:
“To be clear, it is our view that his involvement in advocacy and criticism does not necessarily result in the inference that Mr. Dattani could not perform the role of Chief Commissioner. In some ways, Mr. Dattani’s scholarship and depth of knowledge of the Israel-Palestine could have been framed as an asset to the role of Chief Commissioner.”
Yet the three Jewish organizations made sure the stain smeared not just his reputation but resulted in his (likely forced) resignation from the job before he had even started it.
The Troika — the three pro-Israel organizations – are experts in silencing critics of Israel by shutting them down, closing events and debates and rejecting any criticism of Israel – despite the facts that Israel has killed more than 40,000 Palestinians in cold blood in the last ten months. True to form, last week CIJA was in Federal Court to challenge the Canadian government’s resumption of funding of the United National Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). As many remember after Oct 7, Canada like the US took away funding from UNRWA. According to CIJA, UNRWA’s connections to Hamas “a listed terrorist organization” means the Canadian government should not be giving help to Gazans. The Troika ensure Canadians are fired or removed if they question Israel’s genocide, and the Troika unleash civil terror among those who oppose Israel’s war on Gaza. Now CIJA is running a campaign to topple Hahn.
But it looks as if Hahn has too much broad support. He refuses to be intimidated by the Troika and refuses to resign.
Now is the time for the union movement to go on the offensive, not only FOR Fred Hahn but against the pro-Israel lobby. Only a very large national organization such as CUPE, or the union movement more broadly, can step in and try to turn the tide against the nastiness and lies of the pro-Israel lobby.
What can the union do? It can
Publish articles, tweets and content that educate their members on solidarity with Palestine
Defend and try to protect those who have been fired or disciplined for daring to criticize Israel; they can “adopt” people who have been disciplined or fired demand they be rehired
Lend more support to left wing organizations including Labour 4 Palestine
Picket politicians and business speakers who support Israel
Make the cause of Palestinian solidarity and a ceasefire, the number one focus for Labour Day
For the first time in a long time there is a chance for organized labour and its members to raise human rights concerns as central to struggles against racism, against colonialism and for solidarity. Already over 170,000 people who signed letters in support of Hahn agree. This is not the time to cajole tepid interventions by the NDP. The party threw MPP Sarah Jama out of the Ontario NDP caucus for mere support of the Palestinian cause last October. Now is the time for the union movement to fight and to lead– not just for itself but for other social activists. It can do it
Featured painting at the top: Peace, by Sliman Mansour, was created with mud and wood. [Courtesy of Sliman Mansour]. For more on Mansour, his life and his art, read this.
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