The King Charles III pin, which states “God save the king,” contains the current British king’s royal cypher, a monogram beneath a crown, set in blue and red, flanked by golden laurels. It’s the sort of commendation that is typically pinned to formal lapels.
Aaron Hadida, the founder of Magen Herut, a Canadian Jewish volunteer security patrol, is more inclined to wear leather jackets than white ties. But there he was, on Dec. 8, receiving the award and a certificate from Michael Kerzner, solicitor general of Ontario and a member of the provincial Parliament.
“Initially, it felt sort of surreal. In doing the work that we do, and not to be cliché about it, but I don’t really ever expect these types of things,” Hadida told JNS.
“I feel like I’m in the background, and whenever somebody acknowledges us, it’s surprising, pleasantly. It’s a huge honor,” he said. “When you actually accept the fact that you’re being acknowledged for so much hard work and so many hours and sleepless nights, it really just makes you pause and sit back and say ‘wow.’ The community really does see it.”
Hadida created Magen Herut in the weeks after Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023 terror attacks in southern Israel and amid surging Jew-hatred worldwide.
The group has some 50 members from various backgrounds, including Jews, Christians and Muslims. Some are first-generation Lebanese, Syrian, Nigerian and Iranian, Hadida told JNS.
When Hadida received a call informing him of his award, he was heading security detail for Stephen Harper, the former Canadian prime minister, during a Toronto speaking engagement, he told JNS.
During the call, Hadida was “choked up.”
“It’s so humbling and just hard to describe,” he told JNS. “I just wondered if they reached the right person.”
When Kerzner presented the award and certificate to Hadida, he gave the latter a firm handshake and said “extremely well-deserved,” noting that he had seen the security professional in action over the prior year, Hadida told JNS.
The ceremony also honored 20 others, for other sorts of community service.
“It just shows that we make an impact,” he told JNS. “I’m happy to be a tiny sliver of that impact in the world.”
Hadida is also a former podcaster who self-published a memoir Hate 2.0: One Man’s Journey to Becoming “a Tough Jew” in 2022.