OTTAWA – The federal Liberal Party has revoked the candidacy of Quebec candidate and former imam Hassan Guillet after the Conservatives called for his ouster over accusations of anti-Semitic remarks.
Earlier on Friday, B'nai Brith Canada, a Jewish advocacy group, after they highlighted a series of remarks he had made on social media that the group called "anti-Semitic and anti-Israel."
"In January of 2017, Guillet celebrated the release of Raed Salah, a Hamas-aligned activist who has accused Jews of staging the 9/11 terror attacks and has claimed that Jews use children's blood for baking 'holy bread,' B'Nai Brith said.
The group said Guillet also "offered his congratulations to Salah on being freed from 'the prisons of occupied Palestine,' and prayed that he will some day be successful in the fight to liberate 'the whole of Palestine.'"
Guillet has also stated on Facebook that "the Zionists control American politics," which B’Nai Brith says "promotes the common anti-Semitic trope of Jews manipulating world governments."
In , Guillet apologized if he had offended people, and said that was not his intention. He said that the comments should not reflect his personality and that he opposes hatred, racism, anti-Semitism and violence, regardless of who the perpetrators or victims are.
Liberal Party spokesperson Braeden Caley said that the comments made were "insensitive," and "not aligned with the values of the Liberal Party of Canada."
Caley said that an "internal review process" has been going on for "a few weeks." B’nai Brith said that they reached out to the Liberal Party more than a week ago about Guillet.
According to the Canadian Press, Guillet won a contested nomination race in the Montreal riding of Saint-Léonard Saint-Michel in May. He gained international attention for his sermon at the funeral of worshippers killed in the Quebec City mosque attack in 2017.
