Operator of two locations allegedly gave Nazi salute at Montreal protest
Second Cup Canada has taken decisive action to terminate the franchise agreement of a café owner after video footage emerged of her allegedly chanting antisemitic slogans and performing a Nazi salute at a protest in Montreal.
The franchisee, Mai Abdulhadi, operates two Second Cup locations within Montreal's Jewish General Hospital, according to Global News.
The incident occurred during a protest at Concordia University last Thursday, where Abdulhadi was reportedly filmed chanting “The Final Solution is coming your way,” a reference to the Holocaust.
Peter Mammas, president of Second Cup Canada, confirmed that the company identified Abdulhadi as the woman in the video.
“We spoke to a lot of employees, and they confirmed to us that, yes, it was her in the videos,” Mammas said in a phone interview. He explained that employees from Abdulhadi’s cafés and Second Cup Canada staff who visited the sites corroborated her identity.
Video footage of the incident, posted on social media, also shows a woman giving the Nazi salute. Global News said it has not independently confirmed that the woman in the video is Abdulhadi.
The coffee company released a statement on social media, further addressing the controversy on Sunday:
“Second Cup has zero tolerance for hate speech… This franchisee’s actions are not only a breach of our franchise agreement, but they also violate the values of inclusion and community we stand...
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