Paramount Foods CEO Mohamad Fakih in hot seat after X post
Author of the article:Joe Warmington
Published Jan 16, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 4 minute read
Paramount Foods was in damage control Monday night following reaction to a deleted tweet from founder Mohamad Fakih.
Paramount Foods was in damage control following reaction Monday to a now-deleted tweet from founder Mohamad Fakih, suggesting he doesn’t “need” money from someone who “supports baby killers.”
The member of the Order of Canada and CEO of Paramount, which operates dozens of restaurants and has an arena in Mississauga named after the company, made the controversial comments in X posts. He was responding to a poster named Eugene who wrote, “I’ll never set foot in Paramount Foods ever again” and “terrorist sympathizers don’t deserve my business.”
A well-respected philanthropist and fundraiser, Fakih — who has appeared in photographs with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie — responded “we don’t want your money. Please don’t bring us blood money.”
In an earlier X posting — now deleted — he said “we don’t need your money” since “our clients are respectful families from all backgrounds . . . we welcome everyone, but not the one that supports baby killers and government that (is) starving innocent civilians.”
From there, Fakih said, people on X posted his picture with the tweet and created a false anti-Semitic narrative. Whatever his intention, the reaction has been swift.
“With his social-media post, this Order of Canada recipient reminded many Canadians of the days when Jews were not welcome as patrons in various establishments throughout the country,” said Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s manager of research. “The hurt caused by his message was amplified by his usage of the phrase ‘blood money,’ a term reminiscent of the classic anti-Semitic trope of ‘blood libel.’”
Robertson added, “it is difficult to fathom that such a highly regarded Canadian could make such a deeply offensive comment. Anti-Semitism from anyone, let alone public figures, should never be tolerated.”
While B’nai Brith did not call for Fakih’s Order of Canada to be revoked, others have.
In an X posting, PC MPP Lisa MacLeod said “Order of Canada recipients must be beyond reproach in upholding shared Canadian values and do so as a responsibility and a privilege” and “Mohamad Fakih must be either removed from the Order or resign.”
When contacted for comment, Fakih — who this week has been leading a team providing hot meals to those on the streets — countered he was “shocked” by the harsh reaction, saying his posts were “misconstrued” and never intended to be taken as many did.
Fakih, who rose from humble beginnings to enjoy great success after coming to Canada from Lebanon in his 20s, told The Toronto Sun that “for the last 100 days,” he never “said anything against the Jewish community” and that he “just wants things to calm down and be fair.”
He said his staff received hateful comments that scared them, and people have been giving Paramount’s restaurants scathing reviews on social media.
Fakih claimed he also received “death” threats. He said he was very clear in his posts that “everyone is welcome” and the “spin” presented by those reacting to the tweets was “inaccurate.”
While Fakih was not feeling comfortable with the negative social media attention, he was part of the public campaign to see Hockey legend Don Cherry lose his spot on Hockey Night in Canada after Grapes made his “you people” comment.
On what was then called Twitter, Fakih tweeted “instead of insulting those of us who have chosen Canada as the place we want to build our lives, perhaps Don Cherry should consider matching my commitment.”
Now it’s Fakih who is facing public scrutiny.
While he insisted it’s clear his posts were not anti-Semitic, Fakih acknowledged that the damage was done. Others, online, contended he did the damage to himself.
While Fakih, who has made a video in support of The Canadian Muslim Vote organization that is currently paying for a group of MPs to visit Jordan and the West Bank to meet with Palestinian refugees, has clarified that “everyone” is welcome in his restaurants.
Fakih said his comments were directed toward one person and not intended to go beyond that.
Some are accepting of that explanation, and some are not.
That said, Fakih has been staunchly critical of Israel in the war against Hamas. On Jan. 11, he responded to an X post by commentator Avi Lewis, who was arguing that Israel had a responsibly to defend itself from terror.
Fakih’s responded, “a legal absurdity to call this genocide? It’s a moral absurdity to call it anything else.”
When challenged that he does not have a robust track record of publicly denouncing Hamas, whose militants slaughtered 1,200 Jews and kidnapped more than 200 people on Oct. 7, he acknowledged they are considered a terrorist group and he does not support them.
Fakih recently posted surprising criticism of the Trudeau government he routinely supports. Trudeau has even posted a video in the past congratulating Paramount on its 10th anniversary.
But Fakih spoke out against the Trudeau government’s decision not to support the South African charges before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, alleging Israel had committed war crimes in its execution of the war in Gaza.
“I am a Liberal. This crew has lost its way,” Fakih posted on X.
But it was the posting, in which he highlighted “blood money” that some feeling it was suggesting exclusion. That seems to have riled up his critics the most.
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Joe Warmington
Published Jan 16, 2024 • Last updated 1 day ago • 4 minute read
Paramount Foods was in damage control Monday night following reaction to a deleted tweet from founder Mohamad Fakih.
Paramount Foods was in damage control following reaction Monday to a now-deleted tweet from founder Mohamad Fakih, suggesting he doesn’t “need” money from someone who “supports baby killers.”
The member of the Order of Canada and CEO of Paramount, which operates dozens of restaurants and has an arena in Mississauga named after the company, made the controversial comments in X posts. He was responding to a poster named Eugene who wrote, “I’ll never set foot in Paramount Foods ever again” and “terrorist sympathizers don’t deserve my business.”
A well-respected philanthropist and fundraiser, Fakih — who has appeared in photographs with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Ontario Liberal Leader Bonnie Crombie — responded “we don’t want your money. Please don’t bring us blood money.”
In an earlier X posting — now deleted — he said “we don’t need your money” since “our clients are respectful families from all backgrounds . . . we welcome everyone, but not the one that supports baby killers and government that (is) starving innocent civilians.”
From there, Fakih said, people on X posted his picture with the tweet and created a false anti-Semitic narrative. Whatever his intention, the reaction has been swift.
“With his social-media post, this Order of Canada recipient reminded many Canadians of the days when Jews were not welcome as patrons in various establishments throughout the country,” said Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s manager of research. “The hurt caused by his message was amplified by his usage of the phrase ‘blood money,’ a term reminiscent of the classic anti-Semitic trope of ‘blood libel.’”
Robertson added, “it is difficult to fathom that such a highly regarded Canadian could make such a deeply offensive comment. Anti-Semitism from anyone, let alone public figures, should never be tolerated.”
While B’nai Brith did not call for Fakih’s Order of Canada to be revoked, others have.
In an X posting, PC MPP Lisa MacLeod said “Order of Canada recipients must be beyond reproach in upholding shared Canadian values and do so as a responsibility and a privilege” and “Mohamad Fakih must be either removed from the Order or resign.”
When contacted for comment, Fakih — who this week has been leading a team providing hot meals to those on the streets — countered he was “shocked” by the harsh reaction, saying his posts were “misconstrued” and never intended to be taken as many did.
Fakih, who rose from humble beginnings to enjoy great success after coming to Canada from Lebanon in his 20s, told The Toronto Sun that “for the last 100 days,” he never “said anything against the Jewish community” and that he “just wants things to calm down and be fair.”
He said his staff received hateful comments that scared them, and people have been giving Paramount’s restaurants scathing reviews on social media.
Fakih claimed he also received “death” threats. He said he was very clear in his posts that “everyone is welcome” and the “spin” presented by those reacting to the tweets was “inaccurate.”
While Fakih was not feeling comfortable with the negative social media attention, he was part of the public campaign to see Hockey legend Don Cherry lose his spot on Hockey Night in Canada after Grapes made his “you people” comment.
On what was then called Twitter, Fakih tweeted “instead of insulting those of us who have chosen Canada as the place we want to build our lives, perhaps Don Cherry should consider matching my commitment.”
Now it’s Fakih who is facing public scrutiny.
While he insisted it’s clear his posts were not anti-Semitic, Fakih acknowledged that the damage was done. Others, online, contended he did the damage to himself.
While Fakih, who has made a video in support of The Canadian Muslim Vote organization that is currently paying for a group of MPs to visit Jordan and the West Bank to meet with Palestinian refugees, has clarified that “everyone” is welcome in his restaurants.
Fakih said his comments were directed toward one person and not intended to go beyond that.
Some are accepting of that explanation, and some are not.
That said, Fakih has been staunchly critical of Israel in the war against Hamas. On Jan. 11, he responded to an X post by commentator Avi Lewis, who was arguing that Israel had a responsibly to defend itself from terror.
Fakih’s responded, “a legal absurdity to call this genocide? It’s a moral absurdity to call it anything else.”
When challenged that he does not have a robust track record of publicly denouncing Hamas, whose militants slaughtered 1,200 Jews and kidnapped more than 200 people on Oct. 7, he acknowledged they are considered a terrorist group and he does not support them.
Fakih recently posted surprising criticism of the Trudeau government he routinely supports. Trudeau has even posted a video in the past congratulating Paramount on its 10th anniversary.
But Fakih spoke out against the Trudeau government’s decision not to support the South African charges before the International Court of Justice in The Hague, alleging Israel had committed war crimes in its execution of the war in Gaza.
“I am a Liberal. This crew has lost its way,” Fakih posted on X.
But it was the posting, in which he highlighted “blood money” that some feeling it was suggesting exclusion. That seems to have riled up his critics the most.
WARMINGTON: Paramount Foods CEO Mohamad Fakih in hot seat after X post
Paramount Foods was in damage control Monday night following reaction to a deleted tweet from founder Mohamad Fakih.
