‘Jim Crow Jewish supremacists’: Union leader faces complaint over anti-Israel posts

A complaint filed against the Canadian Association of Professional Employees union president Nathan Prier on Monday argues he used social media to “harass, slander, and defame Jewish CAPE members,” according to a document obtained by National Post. The complaint filed with the union by member Jackie Luffman says that Prier made a “sockpuppet account” on Reddit, which publicly presents as a third-party account but is actually manipulated by the user to rally support for their own posts. In April, Prier shared an article on the “CanadaPublicServants” community in which he was quoted speaking about the need for unions to divest from Tesla. Reddit moderators identified Prier — a federal economist with Innovation, Science and Economic Development Canada — after they were alerted to suspicious behaviour in the forum, pinning a note to the post explaining that his fake account was “deleted after Mr. Prier was challenged on his deception.” Prier confirmed to National Post the anonymous account was his.

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Luffman’s complaint details dozens of controversial statements Prier is said to have made about Jews and Israel on the anonymous account. According to the complaint, most of the comments were posted on CAPE’s unofficial Reddit page — “USS_CAPE” — home to nearly 80,000 users, during back-and-forth debates on the channel with other union members in late 2024. The complaint says many of his posts are speckled with references to “Zios,” a phrase used by anti-Zionists to describe Zionists. “Your points are all correct but stop wasting energy explaining this to zios,” Prier reassures one user in a debate about the conflict between Israel and Hamas in November 2024, “they stand proudly with a rape and torture state, and despite their fake tears about their bastardized version of racism and discrimination, they’re not worth the effort.” “Zios trying to weaponize DEI language to shill for a rape and torture state is very funny btw,” he wrote a few days later. The following day, he responded to one pro-Israel user: “I’ll say Jim Crow Jewish supremacists from now on, which more accurately describes you.” On the anonymous account, Prier shares his views that CAPE should play a defining role in global affairs. During a discussion, he writes, “It’s time for the international community to civilize Israel and unions can play a role like they did in ending South African apartheid or in forcing Truth and Reconciliation for the Canadian genocide.” “Oh and people don’t find your racial supremacy cute or inspiring, you Jim Crow hacks,” he responds to one user a minute later. Prier argues against the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism. The non-legally binding definition deems comparing Jews or Israel to the Nazis and classic tropes of Jewish control of finance as antisemitic. “Gaza is like the Warsaw Ghetto (there I’ve violated IHRA),” he writes, taking aim at the definition adopted by dozens of countries, the federal government and several provinces. Asked for comment, Prier wrote a short statement to the Post acknowledging the now-deleted account was operated by him. “What’s happening in Israel and Palestine is a deeply emotional issue for many people, including me,” Prier wrote, adding he’s “always been clear that I believe in justice for Palestinians and fighting antisemitism. I support a peaceful resolution to the war in Gaza.” “My comments on Reddit were posted to a personal account and reflect my personal beliefs. I was not speaking as the President of the Canadian Association of Professional Employees.” Laura Gauthier, the senior communications adviser of CAPE, said the union would not comment on internal matters involving members or staff. “All complaints are handled in accordance with applicable laws and internal policies, which are designed to ensure confidentiality and fairness,” she said in a note to the Post. Luffman’s complaint argues that Prier’s conduct violated CAPE’s Code of Ethics for Elected or Appointed Officers, specifically bylaws pertaining to harassment and slander. She is calling for Prier’s resignation, because his “statements exemplify a distorted and racist view of Jews and the national movement with which the vast majority of them in Canada identify.” She denounced Prier’s language as “horribly vile,” writing he “denies legitimacy to the Jewish people, uses derogatory language to depict Jews as supremacists, echoes tropes of Jewish control or dominance, makes comparisons of Jews confined in the Warsaw Ghetto to Israeli policy, and crosses the line from critique to vilification.” The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) echoed Luffman’s call, telling the Post the organization lacked confidence in Prier’s leadership to represent CAPE’s diverse constituency fairly. “The use of antisemitic tropes and hostile language by Nathan Prier raises serious questions about fitness to represent a diverse union membership and alignment with the Public Service Code of Values and Ethics,” CIJA general counsel Richard Marceau wrote the Post. “The fact that he is using a hidden identity speaks to (a) lack of transparency at a minimum, but also to a completely unacceptable level of dishonesty for someone in such an important position. In brief, if accountability has any meaning, Nathan Prier should resign from his position.” Luffman remains hopeful her complaint will trigger an external investigation, but sees Prier’s behaviour as part of a troubling pattern within CAPE, the country’s third-largest federal public service union representing over 20,000 members. In November 2023, Prier’s predecessor, Camille Awada, resigned after anti-Israel social media posts he allegedly made years earlier began circulating among union members. “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 reportedly wrote on Facebook in January 2019. A few days earlier, he reportedly referred to Israel as that “illegitimate Zionist lunatic terrorist apartheid state.” Luffman received confirmation that her complaint was registered on Wednesday, but said in a brief written comment she did not wish to weigh in on the story as the investigation unfolds. “I have faith in the process and look forward to receiving the report from the third-party investigator,” she maintained. Our website is the place for the latest breaking news, exclusive scoops, longreads and provocative commentary. Please bookmark nationalpost.com and sign up for our daily newsletter, Posted, here.