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Canadian Muslim Organization Adjusting Recruitment Policies After Student Volunteer's Tweets Resurface

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December 5, 2017

A non-profit Muslim organization based in Canada has promised to adjust its recruitment policies following the resurfacing of social media posts by a former student volunteer that included a prayer for God to "ruin the homes of the Jew."

Muslim Awards for Excellence (MAX) executive team member Omar Raza told the Washington Free Beacon that Leyan Saleh's comments run "contrary to our values and mission."

Saleh, who graduated from Toronto's Ryerson University last year, tweeted in 2014, "Keep Palestine in your prayers. During this holy night. Ya Allah #3rdIntifada," a reference to violent uprising by Palestinians against Israeli Jews.

In 2015, she wrote, ""#tweetpalestinianexpressionsinenglish May god ruin the homes of the Jew 'ye5rib bait il yahud.'"

Saleh served until 2017 as a "youth facilitator" at the Canadian Centre for Victims of Torture, charged with helping young refugees integrates into Canadian society, according to her LinkedIn profile. Her current career status is as an "Outspoken sociology graduate pursuing teaching opportunities in the Middle East."

Raza said Saleh only served as a volunteer for MAX's 2016 gala.

"At the time [of Saleh's involvement], our Human Resources lead would review resumes and relevant work experience in order to confirm suitability. We have expanded our volunteer recruitment process to include a formalized application, multiple interviews, and additional review of experiences for each volunteer," said Raza.

Since the exposure of her tweets, Saleh's profile page on the site has been removed.

MAX will be adding a statement of principles of inclusion and equity to its website, said Raza.

MAX was founded to "elevate the brand of Muslims in Canada by recognizing & motivating high achievement," according to its mission statement.

Saleh's tweets were publicized by a controversial campus watch dog, Canary Mission, which anonymously lists the names, affiliations, and social media activity of individuals the organization believes to be "promoting hatred of the USA, Israel, and Jews on college campuses in North America."

Ryerson University has dealt with multiple anti-Semitism controversies in the last year, including being forced to terminate a teaching assistant who advocated to "purify Al-Aqsa Mosque from the filth of Jews."