A well-known Halifax hot dog vendor isn’t backing down from anti-Semitic tweets that have led to a police investigation and a backlash from the community.
The man known as the Dawgfather PHD, a fixture on the campus of Dalhousie University, came under fire for tweets posted on Wednesday referencing Hitler, gas chambers and ovens.
The Dawgfather was not at his hot dog stand on Thursday, but was active on Twitter defending his controversial tweets.
He says he’s trying to prove a point about free speech, but many Dalhousie students and members of the Halifax Muslim community want no part of it.
“Everyone at Dal loves the Dawgfather, but this is just … I don’t even know,” one student told CTV News.
The tweets have become the subject of an investigation by Halifax Regional Police, and inspired Dalhousie student Asrar Haq to create a Facebook page calling for students to boycott the hot dog vendor’s business.
With the page gaining a following, Haq said he doesn’t want to see the Dawgfather’s business removed from campus, but wants to make a point of his own.
“I’d like to see him apologize for all the people that could be offended,” Haq said.
“I’m not Jewish but I’m offended when I read things like that.”
The issue has now spread beyond the campus, with one Halifax Muslim leader speaking out, saying the tweets are both unwise and counterproductive.
Jamal Badawi says freedom of expression is not absolute of restriction and needs to be used responsibly.
“Freedom of expression is bound by legal restriction,” Badawi said.
“Slander is not freedom of expression. Shouting fire in a crowded theatre causing death is not a joke.”
The Dawgfather defended himself on Twitter on Thursday.
“How can we not understand that I was invoking conversation to prove we can’t have a standard for one people and one for everyone else,” he wrote.
But, according to Badawi, that’s no excuse.
“You can’t tell me ‘I’m just making a point’, when you make a point in very bad taste, when you insult the memories of those who perished in the Holocaust,” Badawi said.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Amanda Debison
