Anti-Semitism at Toronto restaurant

Shai DeLuca, a prominent Jewish designer and media personality, was attacked with defamatory accusations, which were posted on the social media platforms of Toronto eatery Foodbenders by its owner, Kimberly Hawkins. Hawkins’s false statements include accusations that Mr. DeLuca is a “terrorist” and that he pointed a rifle at Palestinian children. Hawkins has also targeted the Jewish community at large, even going so far as to post signs outside Foodbenders’s storefront and messages on its social media that “Zionists” are not welcome at the establishment.

In July 2020, The Lawfare Project — in partnership with Toronto law firm RE-LAW LLP — filed a lawsuit against Hawkins with the Ontario Superior Court on behalf of Mr. DeLuca, arguing that Hawkins violated anti-defamation laws along with Ontario's Human Rights Code by using her store and social media platforms to spread anti-Semitic rhetoric.