York University fired a staff member on Wednesday for a series of what critics called anti-Semitic Facebook posts.

In a letter obtained by the Star dated Sept. 14, York informed Nikolaos Balaskas, a laboratory technologist in its science faculty, that his employment was terminated following his Facebook posts and comments that “target identifiable groups” and “denigrate particular religious faiths including those of the Jewish faith.”

On Aug. 28, Balaskas shared a photo that stated: “Jewish Bolshevik mass murderer Genrikh Yagoda was responsible for between 7 and 10 million deaths. The fact that you’ve never heard of him is exactly why the Jews should not have total control of the media.”

He commented on the post: “Pray that these same Zionists, haters of God and His children, do not succeed in their goal of bringing about World War III.” Earlier in that month, he reposted a comment in which he accused “Zionists” of murdering 100 million Christians between 1917-1945 and being responsible for the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

In a statement to the Star, Balaskas criticized the groups that alerted York to his online comments. “Although there are some very disturbing allegations of interference and wrong doing by outside special interest groups that ultimately led to having me unjustly fired, at the moment I just want to clear my name and prevent further attacks and damage to York University’s reputation so that I can return back to work doing what I love to do — helping students in the labs and being there to listen to and support them as their friend,” he stated.

B’nai Brith Canada reported Balaskas’ social media activity to York in July after multiple students approached the organization, according to Amanda Hohmann, national director for B’nai’s Brith’s League for Human Rights.

“We get calls all the time from York students so it was very heartening to see that the administration took a step like this, that they’re actually listening to our community,” Hohmann said. “It’s a very positive step, especially considering the history of anti-Semitism and anti-Israel sentiment on campus at York in the last number of years.”

In its letter to Balaskas, the university referenced a meeting he attended Sept. 8, during which he said he regretted if his posts “impacted York staff or students” but that he does not view them as “hate posts.”

“You acknowledged that some of your posts have been deemed disturbing, and that your response is that persons are not forced to read these posts,” the letter states.

York had previously suspended Balaskas three times, including a 10-day suspension in September 2015, according to the letter, which didn’t specify the causes of his previous disciplines.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

Read more about: