A national negotiator for the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) praised the October 7 atrocities committed by Hamas, repeatedly denied reports that the terror group committed sexual violence, and accused Zionists of controlling the media.
A national negotiator for the Public Service Alliance of Canada (PSAC) praised the October 7 atrocities committed by Hamas and denied reports that the terror group committed sexual violence.
On the day of the invasion, Hassan Husseini reacted to a social media post by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) that denounced Canadians celebrating the atrocities by responding: “It is called liberation of stolen land, stupid!!!”
The representative of one of the nation’s largest public sector unions began celebrating the attacks in the early hours of Oct. 7, as the scale of the Hamas massacre was becoming clear.
On Oct. 26, the day before Israel’s full-scale ground operation in Gaza began, Husseini greeted his followers: “Good morning and f–k #Apartheid_Israel and anyone who defends it and attempts to whitewash its #WarCrimes and genocide.”
Chelsea, a PSAC member who requested to use only her first name out of fear of a job reprisal, said that Husseini’s comment made her feel under attack. “I do not feel that he would be able to properly represent me, a Jew and a Zionist. I continue to feel unrepresented by PSAC as they ostracized many Jewish members and created a space in which we do not all feel safe.”
In May 2024, Husseini shared several posts rejecting accounts that Hamas committed sexual violence during its invasion of Israel. He also retweeted an image of Naama Levy, an Israeli woman taken hostage by Hamas who was recorded with bloody pants, saying the image was part of “Israel’s weaponization of allegations of rape to justify genocide!”
The following day, he shared an article from a Turkish news outlet, writing out its headline – “October 7 ‘rape claims’ debunked as Israeli propaganda unravels” – in a now-deleted series of messages. The post led to an exchange with Post columnist Rahim Mohamed, who challenged Husseini, only for the union leader to double down on the conspiracy.
“You know this is BS propaganda but here you are pandering to Zionist disinformation to justify war crimes against Palestinians,” Husseini posted.
“The posts are absolutely NOT legitimate expressions of political disagreement. The rhetoric is antisemitic and demonstrates Husseini’s hate is more important to him, or stronger than his desire to work as a representative of PSAC,” member Sara Lawlor told the Post in an email. “I feel extremely unrepresented by PSAC and I feel PSAC does not value my safety or well-being.” Lawlor feels that a recent panel discussion hosted by PSAC is further proof of that.
Union member Valerya Shneider accused PSAC of enabling discriminatory statements. “Since October 7, the union has taken an antisemitic path, which has undermined the diversity of its members. They have already organized anti-Israeli webinars and meetings,” she said. “They did nothing to stop the rising antisemitism; rather, they instigated it by taking sides in foreign political matters.”
“Unions should focus on their members’ working conditions and benefits, not on divisive, amateurish, simplistic, one-sided, and toxic forays into foreign policy,” Richard Marceau, CIJA’s general counsel and vice president of external affairs, told the Post in a statement. He accused organized labour of turning a blind eye as “anti-Jewish rot” has flourished around them.
“It goes much further than simply Husseini. It is an organized campaign, led and inspired by people like Husseini and Fred Hahn and implemented by activists who are making Jewish union members unwelcome in organizations created to protect every one of their members,” Marceau continued. Hahn is a CUPE Ontario leader who praised the October 7 attacks and supported anti-Israel student encampments. “There are good reasons that some unions are being taken to human rights tribunals for anti-Jewish discrimination. This has to stop,” Marceau said.
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