"Overall, your article provides very little critical analysis of the antisemitism report you describe in your story. It comes across as a platform for pro-Israel groups who want to undermine the credibility and character of people who support Palestinian liberation and criticize Israel."
February 12, 2024
To:
Free Press Staff, Winnipeg Free Press
Paul Samyn, Editor, Winnipeg Free Press
Dear Free Press Staff,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East to express my concern about an article titled “Winnipeg universities get passing grade on campus antisemitism report,” published on February 9 in the Winnipeg Free Press.
Overall, your article provides very little critical analysis of the antisemitism report you describe in your story. It comes across as a platform for pro-Israel groups who want to undermine the credibility and character of people who support Palestinian liberation and criticize Israel. I would like to recommend edits that could make your article more balanced.
Perhaps the most critical shortcoming of this article is the failure to accurately portray the debate around the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. While you do include the broad definition, you should add that IHRA gives illustrative examples of antisemitism, including the claim that the existence of Israel is a racist endeavor, and other instances involving criticism of Israel. By emphasizing that IHRA has these illustrative examples that conflate criticism of Israel with antisemitism, readers would understand how reasonable the criticism of the IHRA definition is. To make your article more balanced, please include some of IHRA’s illustrative examples of antisemitism, as well as the fact that it has been rejected by human rights and other civil society groups for wrongly labeling criticism of Israel as antisemitic.
This article frames Arij Al Khafagi’s suspension from the University of Manitoba as a “proactive response” to antisemitism, which is incredibly misleading. The nursing student’s posts condemned Israel’s ongoing violence against Palestinians, which is not antisemitic. By failing to reach out to Arij Al Khafagi for a statement or including any perspectives that condemn her suspension, this article perpetuates the conflation of anti-Zionism and antisemitism. You should also mention that the nursing student has been fully reinstated and the grounds for this decision.
More generally, your article is lacking Palestinian and pro-Palestinian perspectives. As stated previously, this makes your article incredibly one-sided and advances the narratives put forth by proponents of the dominant aggressor, Israel, to suppress the disenfranchised victim, Palestine.
I hope Winnipeg Free Press will make these changes promptly and consider the above-mentioned elements in future reporting.
Sincerely,
Rose Mardikian,
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East