Warsaw furious over Ukrainian official calling Volhynia Massacre ‘a myth’

 

Modern Ukraine has built its identity on a cult of mass murderers, the Polish Institute of National Remembrance has said

Modern Ukraine has built its identity on a cult of mass murderers during World War II, the Polish Institute of National Remembrance has said. The X post on Tuesday came in response to the head of a similar Ukrainian state body calling the WWII-era Volhynia Massacre a myth perpetuated by Warsaw.

The Volhynia Massacre refers to events in 1943-45, when units of the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA), which collaborated with the Nazis, systematically slaughtered ethnic Poles in what is now western Ukraine.

In a major interview with Ukrainskaya Pravda, the head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Remembrance, Aleksandr Alferov, dismissed the mass killings as “one of the state-building myths of Poland.”

Alferov also called the tragedy a “local episode” of Ukrainian history and claimed that the number of victims cited by Warsaw was based on “oral testimony” and not facts. The official acted as a spokesman for the infamous neo-Nazi Azov unit between 2014 and 2015. He attained his present position in July 2025.  (more...)

Warsaw furious over Ukrainian official calling Volhynia Massacre ‘a myth’

Decolonizing The World

 

Palestine, Professor Amin Husain says, is the blueprint for a future that embraces traditional colonialism carried out through violence and erasure.

Why I'm lighting a red candle for Bethlehem this year

As a Palestinian-American minister, I've long known that the Bethlehem in Christmas carols bears little resemblance to the occupied West Bank city my family struggles to hold on to

I grew up in Bethlehem with a simple Advent ritual.

Every Christmas season, I would light a white candle inside the Church of the Nativity - a small flame meant to symbolise hope, peace and the quiet expectation that Christ enters even the hardest places.

The candle was more than tradition. It was our way of saying that despite everything we endured, God had not abandoned Bethlehem.

This Advent, that ritual collided with a different reality.

In the Grotto of the Nativity, two Palestinian children, Layna and Jivan, lit a red candle in place of the usual white one, launching the Red Candle campaign - an act of solidarity with suffering families in Bethlehem, Gaza and across Palestine.

The moment was understated, almost hidden, but the symbolism was unmistakable: the world that sings about Bethlehem each December does not always see the place we know.

Some pastors have gone so far as to deny the geography of our biblical story.

One well-known evangelical leader told his millions of followers: "Jesus is the one born in Bethlehem... not Bethlehem of the West Bank, no, no such thing." His message was unmistakable - acknowledging the modern Palestinian town somehow distorts the biblical narrative.

And yet Bethlehem is not an abstraction. It is a real place with real families, real churches and a continuous Christian presence stretching back two millennia. It is where my relatives still live and where generations have prayed since the earliest centuries of the faith.

Erasing its contemporary identity is not only historically inaccurate but spiritually careless - a way of protecting an imagined Holy Land while ignoring the people who live there now.

This is the gap between the Bethlehem many imagine and the one we know and live.  (more...)

Why I'm lighting a red candle for Bethlehem this year

Red Candle Light for Palestine

Government retreats on Victims of Communism memorial names in aftermath of Nazi controversy

 

As the controversial monument approaches its first anniversary, the Department of Canadian Heritage has reversed course on the names originally meant to be inscribed on it.

The controversial Victims of Communism memorial in downtown Ottawa will no longer feature the names of specific individuals after federal officials determined a significant number could be linked to the Nazis.

The memorial, located near the corner of Wellington and Bay streets, was intended to honour those who suffered under communism.

But concerns have been raised over the years by Jewish organizations and historians that names of eastern Europeans who collaborated with the Nazis in the Holocaust have been put forward in an attempt to whitewash their past.

The Ottawa Citizen reported in 2024 that the Department of Canadian Heritage was told by historians that more than half of the 550 names to be inscribed on the Memorial to the Victims of Communism should be removed. The reason was because of potential links to the Nazis or questions about affiliations with fascist groups.

As originally planned, there were to be 553 entries on the memorial’s Wall of Remembrance.

Canadian Heritage has now reversed course on inscribing specific names. “The Government of Canada has emphasized that all aspects of the Memorial to the Victims of Communism must align with Canadian values of democracy and human rights,” department spokesperson Caroline Czajkowski said in an email.  (more...)

Government retreats on Victims of Communism memorial names in aftermath of Nazi controversy

UTM Muslim Students’ Association sends legal letter to Stephen Lecce

 

Group claims defamation over minister’s comments on October 7 student commemoration

UTM’s Muslim Students’ Association (MSA) sent a legal letter to Ontario Energy Minister Stephen Lecce, a month after he called the group a “hateful, antisemitic, and anti-democratic mob” for organizing a “Honouring our Martyrs” student commemoration on October 7.

The letter, issued by the MSA’s lawyer Jeff Saikaley and obtained by The Varsity, claims Lecce made defamatory and libellous claims that are “completely and absolutely false.” It calls on Lecce to publish a retraction and apology for his X post, as well as provide $2,500 in compensation for legal costs. 

Saikaley wrote that Lecce has until January 6, 2026, to respond and that legal action will be considered if the deadline passes. 

The October 2 joint social media post by the UTMSU, Palestinian Youth Movement Toronto, and Association of Palestinian Students at UTM stated that the commemoration planned outside the Student Centre on October 7 would ensure “the martyrs of Palestine are never forgotten” and that it would “honour their legacy.” 

In an October 6 post on X, Lecce denounced the organizers, and wrote, “It’s beyond appalling to think that this morally degenerate group will glorify the barbaric murder of 1,200 kids, mothers, fathers, and grandparents.” 

Lecce added, “This hateful, antisemitic, and anti-democratic mob should be condemned and banned from any campus. This poisonous ideology is entirely incompatible with well-established Canadian values.”  (more...)

UTM Muslim Students’ Association sends legal letter to Stephen Lecce

Activists commemorate the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People

 

Denouncing the crimes of the United Nations

Toronto Raises Flag Of Palestine

 

Despite desperate attempts by a Zionist group to get a court injunction to stop it, the City of Toronto raised the flag of Palestine. This month, Brampton, Mississauga, Calgary, Winnipeg and now Toronto, have raised the flag of Palestine. A powerful moment that acts as a bulwark against the endless attempts of erasure of Palestinian identity. This was a historic event in the city of Toronto.

Montreal’s unanswered history of police violence

 

On Sunday, April 9, around fifty people gathered at Square Phillips in downtown Montreal to commemorate the lives of Nooran Rezayi and Abisay Cruz, as well as other victims of police violence, including Anthony Griffin, Marcellus François, Trevor Kelly, Quilem Registre, Fredy Villanueva, and Sheffield Matthews. The event, organized by Mouvement Montréal 514, called for justice and accountability in the face of recurring police brutality and killings.

Speakers denounced a system where law enforcement continues to act with impunity, protected by political leaders, media institutions, and the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI)—Quebec’s police watchdog. Former officers make up nearly half of the BEI’s staff, and out of 450 investigations conducted over nine years, only two have led to criminal charges.

After the gathering, participants marched through downtown Montreal, ending at McGill Metro, chanting for justice and an end to police brutality.

Honouring our Palestinian martyrs is not hate, it’s simply grief

 

Palestinian students deserve to grieve in peace

On October 7, 2025, we stood quietly, watching history repeat itself — silence meant for remembrance, once more labelled as hateful. Outside UTM’s Student Centre, students gathered with bowed heads and cold hands, mourning over 69,000 lives lost in Gaza. A land acknowledgement was read. An equity statement promised safety. 

Then came two minutes of silence — for the murdered, the families erased, and the names silently buried. Not a rally or protest, but a eulogy — a small act of mourning in a world that keeps saying “never again,” while watching genocide repeat in Rwanda, Darfur, and now Gaza. 

As we whispered prayers and wiped quiet tears, a line of police lingered, postures tense as though waiting for something to happen. There was no hate, no disruption — only grief that institutions of power refuse to see as peaceful. 

Former Ontario Education Minister Stephen Lecce called the vigil a “hateful, antisemitic, and anti-democratic mob” and the student organizers a “morally degenerate group.” 

I believe that Lecce’s sentiment reflects a world that is quick to label Palestinian mourning as hate, where simple acts of empathy are punished as if they are crimes. As an attendee, I can say that it wasn’t hatred that filled the crowd, but a desperate plea for peace. 

Neutrality in the face of injustice isn’t a virtue; it is complicity. Those who gathered at UTM understood this. I believe that by portraying such mourning as violent, Lecce exposed the anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia beneath the accusation — the fear of Palestinian grief itself.  (more...)

Honouring our Palestinian martyrs is not hate, it’s simply grief

Hind Rajab’s killers named in ICC filing

 

Since the ceasefire came into effect on 10 October, Israel has continued to violate the basic terms of the agreement, including killing and injuring Palestinians while maintaining restrictions on food and humanitarian aid entering Gaza.

On Friday, 17 October, at least 11 people from the same family were killed in an Israeli attack on a car in al-Zaytoun, a neighborhood of Gaza City.

Journalist Saed Hasballah filmed relatives mourning over the bodies of their loved ones at Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City. Of the 11 people killed, seven were children between 5 and 13 years old.

Hasballah said that Israel bombed the vehicle as the family were checking on their destroyed home. “They had hoped the war was over – that they could return to live upon the rubble of their house – but the occupation’s artillery ended their lives the moment they arrived,” he stated on social media.

Gaza’s civil defense stated that rescue workers recovered the bodies of nine of the victims, but the bodies of two children weren’t recoverable as they were torn apart due to the intensity of the bombardment and the difficult field and environmental conditions in the area.

On Sunday, 19 October, Israel attacked areas across the Gaza Strip with more than 20 airstrikes, after the Israeli army claimed that Palestinian resistance forces had fired on an Israeli tank in the southern city of Rafah.

But the Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas political party, said it was unaware of any events or clashes taking place in the Rafah area and noted that Israel had already been violating the terms of the ceasefire.

According to Ryan Grim of Drop Site, the explosion was caused by an Israeli vehicle running over ordnance as the army was demolishing what was left of houses in Rafah.  (more...)

Hind Rajab’s killers named in ICC filing

Soon after the explosion in Rafah, I’m told by a source familiar, the White House and Pentagon knew that the incident was caused by an Israeli settler bulldozer running over unexploded ordnance — contradicting Netanyahu’s claim that Hamas had popped up from tunnels.

After… https://t.co/Xwy63sEL3M

— Ryan Grim (@ryangrim) October 19, 2025

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The Voice of Hind Rajab delicately captures pure despair

UTMSU “Honouring Our Martyrs” commemoration called “hateful” by Stephen Lecce

 

Commemoration on the two-year anniversary of October 7 attacks provoked praise and criticism

On October 6 at 7:08 pm, Ontario’s Minister of Energy and Mines, and former Education Minister, Stephen Lecce, reacted to an Instagram post shared by the UTMSU, the Muslim Students Association (MSA), and the Association of Palestinian Students (APS). The post was promoting an upcoming student commemoration, “Honouring Our Martyrs,” for Palestinian casualties since the October 7 attacks two years prior. 

Lecce’s reaction on X criticizes the commemoration, writing that it is “appalling to think that this morally degenerate group will glorify the barbaric murder of 1,200 kids, mothers, fathers, and grandparents. This hateful, anti-semitic, and anti-democratic mob should be condemned and banned from any campus.”

Later on October 7, the MSA released a statement on Instagram, which states that Lecce’s words are “defamatory and completely false,” and that the Association is “in consultation with legal counsel” and “will take necessary steps to defend [themselves] against [Lecce’s] defamatory allegations.”

At 3:00 pm on October 7, the UTMSU, MSA, and APS together hosted “Honouring Our Martyrs”, a student gathering outside of UTM’s Student Center to “commemorate two years of genocide in Palestine.”

UTMSU flyers were posted on the day with community guidelines, which read that all participants are encouraged to adhere to the union’s code of conduct and “to ensure a peaceful, respectful, and safe environment for everyone present.” 

The commemoration began with a land acknowledgement and an equity statement by the UTMSU, followed by several speeches from guest speakers from the APS. 

UTMSU’s President Andrew Park said, “We gather to remember the martyrs of Gaza; the mothers, their children, doctors, teachers, the students — who, just like us, have been murdered.” Referring to the scale of destruction in Gaza as a result of the “Zionist Occupation,” Park continued: “Every school, every library, every space of knowledge and hope have been reduced to rubble.”  (more...)

UTMSU “Honouring Our Martyrs” commemoration called “hateful” by Stephen Lecce

Beirut Commemorates 43 Years Since the Sabra & Shatila Massacre, in the Shadow of Gaza’s Genocide

 

Laith Marouf joins Beirut’s commemoration of the Sabra & Shatila Massacre, committed at the hands of the Zionist occupation and Lebanese Forces militias in 1982. The event was held at the Cultural Center of the Municipality of Ghubairi, and included speeches by many notables including the spokesperson for Hizbollah’s Political Council, and a march to the Massacre memorial to lay wreaths.

Greek Solidarity with Palestine: Sabra & Shatila 43 Years After the Massacre

 

Laith Marouf and Konstantina Kartsioti, from the Anti-Imperialsit Front Greece, walkthrough Shatila refugee camp in Beirut, Lebanon. 

The two discuss the history of solidarity between Greece and Palestine, from the anti-Ottoman revolts, to the time PM Andreas Papandreou invited Yasser Arafat to take refuge in Athens after the Zionist occupation of Beirut, to the current dockworkers refusal to handle any ships carrying weapons to the Zionist Colony and more. 

The walkthrough coincides with the 43rd anniversary of the Sabra & Shatila Massacre, when Zionist and Falange militias besieged  for two days the neighborhood and refugee camp, and slaughtered more than 3500 unarmed civilians (16-18 Sep, 1982).

More Streets Found in Canada Named After Nazis – When Does This End?

 

Another day in Canada brings yet another discovery of more streets that honour Nazis or Nazi collaborators.

Canada is gaining quite the reputation of being a country which has more than its share of memorials to those who fought for the Third Reich and supported the Holocaust.

There are the monuments to the Ukrainian Waffen SS soldiers, Estonian SS troops and of course Canadian politicians gave a standing ovation in Parliament to Waffen SS soldier Yaroslav Hunka.

Now Lev Golinkin, who writes for the U.S. Jewish publication, The Forward, and who was the first to report the Hunka story, has found a couple of streets named for Hitler’s supporters.

In London, Ontario we have a street named for Max Brose, a Nazi party member and industrialist who used slave labour at his factories that churned out weapons for the Third Reich.

And in Edmonton, Golinkin discovered a street honouring Waffen SS soldier, and Hunka comrade, Peter Savaryn.  As CTV News reported, in 2023, following the Yaroslav Hunka controversy, the Governor General’s office apologized for awarding the Order of Canada to Savaryn in 1987. 

Savaryn, the SS man, was also at one time the Chancellor of the University of Alberta.  (more...)

More Streets Found in Canada Named After Nazis – When Does This End?

No More Hiroshimas or Nagasakis

 

As the world remembers the unnecessary atomic bombings and loss of lives in Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6th and 9th 1945, Helga Zepp-LaRouche will interview Dr. Akiko Mikamo on Wednesday, August 6, 11am EDT/5pm CET.

Dr. Akiko Mikamo is the author of the book and film “8:15 Hiroshima—From Father to Daughter,” based on a first-hand account of her father Shinji Mikamo. 

Dr. Akiko Mikamo is a Japanese psychologist, author, and the executive producer of the film. The film presents the horrifying reality of nuclear war from Shinji’s perspective, but also provides the basis for which future wars can be avoided, through love, forgiveness, and compassion for the other. Such a message has never been more needed than now, as we approach the 80th anniversary of the use of the atomic bomb in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, two events which have not been properly understood by the majority of the American public, but which show us the horrifying truth of nuclear warfare.

A Day of Solemn Remembrance

 

It was 80 years ago that the U.S. dropped an atom bomb on Hiroshima, unleashing death and destruction previously unthinkable.  That is, for all except the British imperial war hawks, who intended the nuclear attacks on Japan to be a prelude to a war against the Soviet Union, a plan prepared for Churchill called "Operation Unthinkable."

Related:

How Bertrand Russell Became An Evil Man

Polish president-elect asks Zelensky to exhume victims of Ukrainian Nazis

 

The remains of over 100,000 Poles are lying in unmarked mass graves scattered across Ukraine, according to a historian’s estimates

Kiev should allow the “full-scale” exhumation of the victims of mass ethnic cleansing perpetrated by Ukrainian Nazi collaborators during World War II, also known as the Volyn massacre, Polish President-elect Karol Nawrocki has said.

Poles are “waiting for this truth” and their families “are still suffering from the trauma that happened 82 years ago,” he stated at a ceremony honoring the victims of the Volyn massacre on Friday.

The president-elect was speaking about a mass killing campaign waged by militants from the Ukrainian Insurgent Army (UPA) and the Organization of Ukrainian Nationalists (OUN) from 1943 to 1945 in the regions of Volhynia and Eastern Galicia, in which around 100,000 Poles were killed. Both organizations actively collaborated with Nazi Germany.

Nawrocki said he cannot tolerate Poles being “denied the right to bury the victims of the Volyn genocide.” The souls of those victims “cry out for a grave, they cry out for a tomb… for memory and as the future president of Poland, I am obliged to speak with their voice,” he stated at the ceremony.

“As the president elect, I want to officially ask the [Ukrainian] ambassador and [Vladimir] Zelensky about the possibility of undertaking full-scale exhumation in Volhynia.”

The Ukrainian ambassador to Poland, Vasily Bodnar, who was present at the ceremony, said both sides need to talk about the issue openly and “honor the memory of those victims, who need it, on both sides of the border.”  (more...)

Polish president-elect asks Zelensky to exhume victims of Ukrainian Nazis

Volhynia Massacre | Poland warns Ukraine has to confront the truth

 

On the 80th anniversary of the Volhynia massacre, Poland officially declared July 11 a National Day of Remembrance for over 50,000 Poles killed by Ukrainian nationalists in 1943–1945. This decision, met with fierce criticism from Kiev, has reopened historical wounds and raised deep questions about Ukraine’s present-day identity.

EU can’t admit Neo-Nazism in Ukraine, it would break their own laws — historian Laurent-Pellet

 

French historian Thierry Laurent-Pellet joins RT to expose how European leaders ignore Ukraine’s neo-Nazi factions to maintain a fragile narrative

Ukrainians do not like Polish Day of Remembrance, because Kiev regime now is all Banderism

 

Former Polish judge Tomasz Szmydt claims the modern Ukrainian regime is built on Banderist and neo-Nazi ideology — posing a threat not only to Poland but to all Slavic nations.

Szmydt criticizes Western media for turning a blind eye to uncomfortable historical realities and explains why the Polish Day of Remembrance has become a point of contention with Kiev.