Swastikas displayed at anti-vaccination rally in Canada

Swastikas were seen on display at an anti-vaccination rally, dubbed the “Freedom Convoy”, over the weekend in Canada.

The rally was organised in opposition to mandates concerning the vaccination status of truckers returning to the United States from Canada.

However, among other signs and flags at the rally, the Nazi symbol was also on display throughout. 

At one point during the demonstration, Conservative MP Michael Cooper delivered a televised interview whilst a flag bearing a swastika was visible in the background.

Mr Cooper later tweeted a statement condemning the symbol, writing: “Naziism [sic] is the purest form of evil and I have always condemned it completely.”

The inflammatory and misleading comparison has been used among other international anti-vaccination and anti-lockdown circles.

Earlier this year, Joseph Szwarc, a Holocaust survivor, spoke out against wearing the yellow star in protests, saying: “You can’t imagine how much that upset me. This comparison is hateful. We must all rise up against this ignominy.” With tears in his eyes, Mr Szwarc added: “I wore the star, I know what that is, I still have it in my flesh. It is everyone’s duty to not allow this outrageous, antisemitic, racist wave to pass over us.”

The comparison has been made across the world, including in the United Kingdom, Canada, Ukraine and elsewhere.

Anti-lockdown and anti-vaccination networks have become known as hotbeds of antisemitic conspiracy theories and tropes.

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