Rawan Qaddoura landed her dream job at a major Ontario union—and within weeks, it all came crashing down. The newly hired OPSEU organizer now sits on paid administrative leave, suspended while investigators dig into a digital trail that screams admiration for Adolf Hitler.
The bombshell internal memo leaked Wednesday night sent shockwaves through the Ontario Public Service Staff Union. “Some of you may have already heard that the employer has put Rawan on paid administrative leave pending the outcome of an employer-initiated investigation,” the message read.
But instead of distancing themselves, union leaders doubled down. “We want to affirm that Rawan is being supported by OPSSU and a dedicated steward throughout this process,” the memo insisted.
The scandal erupted when a letter to OPSEU board members flagged Qaddoura’s now-deleted X account posts. In January 2012, she wrote: “I honestly wish I was born at the time of the second world war just to see the genius, Hitler, at work.” Later that same year: “Every time I read about Hitler, I fall in love all over again.”
As if that weren’t enough, an August 2013 post quoted a statement claiming “the whole world is controlled by Zionist Jews and until you understand that, life will never make sense.”
These weren’t buried secrets. The online antisemitism watchdog Canary Project had documented Qaddoura’s years of inflammatory activism. B’nai Brith Canada even urged McMaster University to take action in 2017 against a campus group praising Hitler on social media—the same online persona now tied to the union hire.
The timing couldn’t be worse for OPSEU. The union is already facing a 2024 human rights complaint from its Jewish members, who say anti-Jewish propaganda has flourished since the Oct. 7 attacks, leaving them marginalized and afraid.
Jewish members were further alarmed when OPSEU ignored its own Jewish caucus recommendations and hired the fringe group Independent Jewish Voices to run mandatory antisemitism training. Then came images of OPSEU flags waving at an anti-Israel rally that supported Iranian-backed Houthi ship hijackings.
Now, OPSSU says they stand by Qaddoura. “Per Rawan’s wishes, we want to ensure that support happens on her terms, not terms set by external forces,” wrote steward Vic Wojciechowska. He urged members to avoid speculation and respect the investigation’s integrity.
But the union’s own human resources head, Shazia Tarar, sent a separate memo Wednesday acknowledging media coverage and warning all employees to watch what they post online—without once mentioning Qaddoura by name.
That vague directive enraged OPSSU officials. “An organization-wide directive like this to OPSSU members, without any forewarning or context, contributed to a workplace culture of fear and confusion,” their memo shot back.
The battle lines are drawn: a union employee who once praised the architect of the Holocaust, a union leadership that refuses to condemn her, and a workforce left to wonder what happens next.
