North Star with Ellin Bessner Shai DeLuca hopes to have set an example for fighting antisemitism in Canada with his legal victory over Foodbenders
Nearly three-and-a-half years after Shai DeLuca felt he had been defamed by the owner of the now-closed Foodbenders restaurant—who suggested on social media that the Toronto interior designer was a “racist” Israeli “terrorist” who had killed Palestinian babies—an Ontario court has found in his favour. The Superior Court of Justice judgement, which was released on Dec. 22, said DeLuca was entitled to $85,000 in damages because he was defamed by Kimberly Hawkins back in the summer of 2020. The judge found Hawkins acted with malice, was irresponsible, and had tried to not only ruin DeLuca’s public reputation but his professional career as well: she had hoped to get him fired by Citytv, where the Israeli-Canadian designer has been an on-air expert in decor and style for over a decade. DeLuca says the whole ordeal was very stressful, especially because he even received death threats at the time. But now, he says with this court victory, he hopes it will serve as an example to the Jewish community to fight back against the current explosion of antisemitism at play in Canada after Oct. 7. Shai DeLuca joins The CJN Daily today to talk about what he went through, and what will happen next.
What we talked about
- Read more about the Foodbenders lawsuit in The CJN.
- Learn more about Shai DeLuca in The CJN.
- Last chance to donate to The CJN for 2023, to support our work, get a tax receipt, and receive our sparkling CJN magazines 4x per year. Hear why The CJN is important to me, in this short message.
Credits: The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Zachary Kauffman is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network. To subscribe to this podcast, please watch this video. Donate to The CJN and receive a charitable tax receipt by clicking here. Hear why The CJN is important to me.