Trudeau minister to cut funding for 'anti-racism' group after backlash over anti-Semitism

Trudeau's Minister of Housing, Diversity, and Inclusion Ahmed Hussen announced that the Community Media Advocacy Centre (CMAC) which hired a consultant that made numerous anti-Semitic and racist comments on Twitter would have its federal funding cut and its project suspended.

The Trudeau Liberals announced on Friday that it would be probing "disturbing" tweets by Laith Marouf, a Syrian-born "pro-Palestinian" activist that called Jews "loud mouthed bags of human feces" and "White Supremacists."

Hussen's tweet on Monday called on CMAC "an organiation claiming to fight racism and hate in Canada," and said that they needed "to answer to how they came to hire Marouf, and how they plan on rectifying the situation given the nature of his antisemitic and xenophobic statements."

"We look forward to a proper response on their next steps and clear accountability regarding this matter. I want to assure Canadians that our government has and will continue to fight antisemitism and hate in all its forms."

The statement comes after the Community Media Advocacy Centre began creating an "anti-racism strategy" for Canadian media with financial assistance from the Trudeau government.

Tweets from senior consultant Laith Marouf sparked controversy due to their anti-Semitic nature. Despite Marouf's efforts to keep his tweets private, a number of them were made public by Jewish author and speaker Aviva Klompas, who posted several screenshots.

In one tweet, Marouf says that his motto is "Life is too short for ... entertaining Jewish White Supremacists with anything but a bullet to the head."

In another, he refers to so-called "Jewish White Supremacists" as "loud mouthed bags of human feces," adding that if Palestine is "liberated," they will "return to being low voiced b*tches of their Christian/Secular White Supremacist Masters."

Marouf also suggested that "Zionists" in Israel should be treated by Palestinians as crusaders were by Saladin, saying "fight us and you will die."

Klompas called out Canadian Heritage for allowing someone who made "disgusting and violent statements about Jews" to be a consultant for an anti-racism program.

She also urged Minister of Canadian Heritage Pablo Rodriguez to act.

Marouf described the program as "a timely intervention with the potential to shape how Racialized Canadians experience the media space," adding that he is "grateful to Canadian Heritage for their partnership and the trust imposed in us and commit to ensuring the successful and responsible execution of this project."

According to the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, Canadian Heritage provided CMAC with $133,822 for the program under an agreement that is set to last until 2023.

Marouf has also argued that there is no such thing as a "Jewish People," going on to suggest that "most of Zionists are converts to Judaism and have no genetic connection."

Aside from expressing hatred towards Jews, Marouf has also on at least one occasion referred to Canada as an "apartheid" state.

Marouf has declined requests for comment from the CBC, with a lawyer for Marouf saying that his client does not harbour "any animus toward the Jewish faith as a collective group."