Story by Christopher Nardi •
Camille Awada resigned as president of the federal public service union Canadian Association of Professional Employees on Monday.© Provided by National Post
OTTAWA – The head of the third-largest federal public service union resigned suddenly Monday, reportedly after a series of antisemitic social media posts began circulating that namely called Israel “the root of all evil.”
In a terse statement posted on its website Tuesday, the Canadian Association of Professional Employees (CAPE) — which represents 23,000 civilian members who namely work at the RCMP, Statistics Canada and the Parliamentary Budget Officer’s office — announced that its president Camille Awada resigned from the top job on Monday.
The statement made no mention of a reason, but Le Droit newspaper reported Tuesday that the resignation happened as antisemitic social media posts dating back to 2018 and 2019 began circulating amongst union membership.
“The European Zionists are the true Aryan race. They look down at the world as if we are cattle. Israel is the illegitimate Zionist terrorist apartheid state that is the root of all evil!,” Awada published on Facebook in January 2019, according to a screenshot obtained by Le Droit.
His post was accompanied by a Forbes article on a report claiming Israel forcibly injected African immigrants with birth control.
In another post just days earlier, Awada wrote that the “illegitimate Zionist lunatic terrorist apartheid state” was “showing its true colors”. He finished the message using the hashtag #terrorisrael.
The messages reportedly began circulating recently as war rages between Israel and Hamas after Hamas terrorists launched a deadly attack against Israel on Oct. 7.
Awada did not immediately respond to a request for a comment sent to his LinkedIn account.
In its statement, CAPE said vice-president Scott Crawford would take over the presidency as the union.
“CAPE management and the President will ensure a smooth transition and CAPE’s work for its members will continue as planned,” reads the statement.
Union representatives did not immediately respond to questions about when they were informed about Awada’s social media posts and if they are linked to his resignation.
Awada’s resignation comes as CAPE, the third-largest federal public service union, was already in the midst of an election for a new president after its previous head, Greg Phillips, resigned in controversy earlier this year.
Police across Canada have reported concerning rises in antisemitic incidents since the war between Israel and Hamas began last month. On Tuesday, Montreal police confirmed they were investigating the firebombing of a Jewish synagogue and community centre.
This is not the first time a leader of a major public service employee is in hot water for posting or supporting antisemitic messages.
On Monday, National Post reported that Jewish members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) filed a human rights claim against their union alleging discrimination and antisemitism, including recent messages seen as cheering for the deadly Hamas attacks on Israel.
Although triggered by social media posts by a CUPE local and CUPE Ontario’s president Fred Hahn after the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel, the complaint to the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario by about 25 Jewish members of CUPE alleges antisemitic incidents spanning at least five years by Canada’s largest labour union.
“The respondents have collectively engaged in systemic discrimination against the complainants by promoting and engaging in antisemitism,” says the complaint, filed Monday.
“This has caused the complainants to feel isolated, unwelcome, scared, silenced, discriminated against, threatened and harassed.”
— With additional reporting by Adrian Humphreys.
Rep. Rashida Tlaib censured by House over Israel-Hamas comments
The House of Representatives voted to censure Democratic Rep. Rashida Tlaib on Tuesday night, despite her emotionally defending herself, as Republicans and some members of her own party voted for a resolution that claimed she had been "promoting false narratives regarding the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and for calling for the destruction of the state of Israel." The tally was 234 yes votes to 188 no votes.
This was the second time Tlaib faced a censure resolution over her criticism of Israel.
Tlaib became emotional on the House floor earlier Tuesday as she defended her views on the deadly conflict.
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Tlaib rose to speak during debate on the resolution, which had been introduced by Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga.
Tlaib's critics have pointed to her use of the phrase "from the river to the sea," which is considered by some as a call for ending Israel's existence. Tlaib, however, has said it's "an aspirational call for freedom, human rights, and peaceful coexistence, not death, destruction, or hate."
Surrounded by some of her progressive Democratic colleagues, Tlaib said earlier Tuesday she would not be "silenced" and accused members of distorting her words.
"I can't believe we have to say this, but Palestinian people are not disposable," she said before she broke down in tears for several seconds earlier on Tuesday. Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., stood to comfort Tlaib before she continued.
"We are human beings just like anyone else. My sity, my grandmother -- like all Palestinians -- just wants to live her life with freedom and human dignity we all deserve," she said. "Speaking up to save lives no matter faith, no matter ethnicity should not be controversial in this chamber. The cries of the Palestinian and Israeli children sound no different to me. What I don't understand is why the cries of Palestinian children sound different to you all. We cannot lose our shared humanity."
Rep. Rashida Tlaib holds up a photo of her grandmother as she speaks on the House floor on Nov. 7, 2023, in Washington, D.C.© House of Representatives TV
An attempt by House Democrats to table, or effectively kill, the McCormick resolution failed on Tuesday afternoon. The House debated the censure resolution Tuesday and voted on Tuesday night.
A vote to censure a member of Congress does not hold power beyond a public condemnation of the member's behavior. It does not deny privileges in Congress or expel the member. A simple majority is all that is needed for a censure resolution to pass.
Censures are relatively rare -- only 25 House lawmakers had been censured in history.. Tlaib becomes the 26th.
Tuesday’s vote was the second attempt in as many weeks looking to condemn Tlaib, the first Palestinian-American member of Congress, for her controversial comments about Israel amid its response to the deadly Hamas terror attack. The U.S. has designated Hamas a terrorist organization.
In Israel, at least 1,400 people have been killed and 6,900 others have been injured since the surprise attack on Oct. 7, according to Israeli officials. In the neighboring Gaza Strip, where Israel Defense Forces are deepening its operational activities, more than 10,000 people have been killed and nearly 26,000 have been injured, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry.
The first resolution, brought by Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene last week, was killed by House Democrats with the help of some Republicans. The House rejected the Georgia congresswoman's effort by a vote of 222-186.
Tlaib first drew ire of some colleagues for refusing to apologize for blaming Israel for a deadly hospital blast in Gaza that U.S. officials believed to have been caused by a Palestinian Islamic Jihad rocket.
More recently, she's faced pushback for calling for a cease-fire as the Israel-Gaza war rages on. She's gone as far as to accuse President Joe Biden of supporting a Palestinian "genocide" over his administration's resistance to a general cease-fire, though Biden has called for temporary pauses in the fighting to allow humanitarian aid to enter and for civilians to leave.
MORE: Rep. Rashida Tlaib draws fire for not apologizing for saying Israel caused Gaza hospital blastTlaib defended her views during her five-minute speech on the House floor.
"Let me be clear: my criticism has always been of the Israeli government and Netanyahu's actions. It's important to separate people and governments, Mr. Chair, no government is beyond criticism," Tlaib said. "The idea that criticizing the government of Israel is antisemitic sets a very dangerous precedent and it's being used to silence diverse voices speaking up for human rights across our nation."
Rep. Ilhan Omar comforts Rep. Rashida Tlaib as she speaks on the House floor on Nov. 7, 2023, in Washington, D.C.© House of Representatives TV
She also again took aim at President Biden, specifically over his past comment questioning the death toll statistics provided by the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry as well as his resistance to an overall cease-fire.
"Seventy-one percent of Michigan Democrats support a ceasefire. So, you can try to censure me, but you can't
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