Jewish group says an ‘apology is owed’ after MPs honoured man who fought for Nazis – National | 24CA News
Several Jewish advocacy organizations condemned members of Parliament on Sunday for giving a standing ovation to a person who fought for a Nazi unit in the course of the Second World War.
During Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s go to to Ottawa on Friday, MPs honoured 98-year-old Yaroslav Hunka within the House of Commons.
Hunka was invited by Speaker Anthony Rota, who launched him as a warfare hero who fought for the First Ukrainian Division.
“I am very proud to say that he is from North Bay and from my riding of Nipissing, Timiskaming,” the Ontario MP mentioned as an introduction.
“He is a Ukrainian hero, a Canadian hero, and we thank him for all his service.”
MPs cheered and Zelenskyy raised his fist in acknowledgement as Hunka saluted from the gallery throughout two separate standing ovations.
The First Ukrainian Division was often known as the Waffen-SS Galicia Division or the SS 14th Waffen Division, a voluntary unit that was beneath the command of the Nazis.
The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies issued an announcement Sunday saying the division “was responsible for the mass murder of innocent civilians with a level of brutality and malice that is unimaginable.”
“An apology is owed to every Holocaust survivor and veteran of the Second World War who fought the Nazis, and an explanation must be provided as to how this individual entered the hallowed halls of Canadian Parliament and received recognition from the Speaker of the House and a standing ovation,” the assertion mentioned.
B’nai Brith Canada CEO Michael Mostyn mentioned it’s past outrageous that Parliament honoured a former member of a Nazi unit, saying Ukrainian “ultra-nationalist ideologues” who volunteered for the Galicia Division “dreamed of an ethnically homogenous Ukrainian state and endorsed the idea of ethnic cleansing.”
“We understand an apology is forthcoming. We expect a meaningful apology. Parliament owes an apology to all Canadians for this outrage, and a detailed explanation as to how this could possibly have taken place at the centre of Canadian democracy,” Mostyn mentioned.
The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, which represents Jewish federations throughout the nation, mentioned it’s deeply troubled by the incident.
“Canada’s Jewish community stands firmly with Ukraine in its war against Russian aggression. But we can’t stay silent when crimes committed by Ukrainians during the Holocaust are whitewashed,” the group mentioned in an announcement printed Sunday on X, previously generally known as Twitter.
Members of Parliament from all events rose to applaud Hunka. A spokesperson for the Conservative social gathering mentioned the social gathering was not conscious of his historical past on the time.
“We find the reports of this individual’s history very troubling,” mentioned Sebastian Skamski, including that the Liberals must clarify why he was invited.
A spokesperson for the Prime Minister’s Office directed The Canadian Press to the workplace of the Speaker for remark.
Rota’s workplace didn’t instantly reply to questions.
Monuments to honour the First Ukrainian Division have brought about controversy in recent times.
In 2021, a statue of Ukrainian army chief Roman Shukhevych and a monument to the fighters of the Waffen-SS Galicia Division in Edmonton have been vandalized by somebody who spray painted them with the phrases “Actual Nazi.”
The Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center mentioned on the time that it had been advocating for his or her removing for many years.
In 2020, a monument to the Waffen-SS Galicia Division in Oakville, Ont., was vandalized in the same method.
The determination to confess Ukrainian immigrants who had served within the SS Waffen Division within the post-war interval was contentious, with Jewish teams arguing they need to be barred from the nation.
The International Military Tribunal in Nuremburg declared the SS to be a prison group, together with the SS Waffen in that declaration.
The Waffen-SS Galicia Division surrendered to the British military in 1945, and simply over 8,000 males have been moved to the United Kingdom in 1947.
In 1950, the federal cupboard determined to permit Ukrainians dwelling within the U.Okay. to come back to Canada “notwithstanding their service in the German army provided they are otherwise admissible. These Ukrainians should be subject to special security screening, but should not be rejected on the grounds of their service in the German army.”
In 1985, then-prime minister Brian Mulroney known as for a royal fee to look at whether or not Canada had develop into a haven for warfare criminals.
The Deschênes Commission discovered there have been about 600 former members of the Waffen-SS Galicia Division dwelling in Canada on the time. But Justice Jules Deschenes mentioned membership within the division didn’t itself represent a warfare crime.
© 2023 The Canadian Press
