"The one-sided reporting of these controversial events gives the impression that they represent a surge of antisemitism, but this is only possible by ignoring the perspectives of others involved. Making this worse, the voiceover in the video claims that the country prides itself on diversity and inclusion but now is struggling to suppress rising hate, while showing images of pro-Palestine actions which put them in a bad light."
February 21, 2024
To:
Jeff Semple, Senior Digital Broadcast Journalist, Global News
Elton Hobson, National Managing Editor, Online Video, Global News
Dear Jeff Semple and Elton Hobson,
I am writing to express my concern about the video segment, “Antisemitism victims speak out amid surge of cases in Canada: ‘It’s just hatred,’” which was published on February 19 by Global News.
There are two main issues in your video segment that I would like to point out.
First, your segment is about the surge of antisemitism in Canada, and it includes some examples of violence, vandalism, and hate crimes that plainly constitute antisemitism. However, the segment also selected incidents that are not about antisemitism, but amount to political disagreements over Israel. In these cases, your depictions of the events are one-sided and leave out alternative points of view, even when contradictory reporting exists. For example:
- You gave space to the Fish café owner, Marcus Stiller, after an incident where his business was targeted because of the Israeli flag he prominently displayed in the window. In this video segment, Stiller says: “I’m not Israeli, I’m Jewish.” No evidence is provided to suggest that he was targeted based on his identity, and it is misleading to your viewers to suggest as much. One can believe that he was treated unfairly while still identifying that he was targeted over the display of a political symbol, not based on his identity.
- You depicted an incident at Concordia University and gave voice only to the pro-Israel students, who presented it as an antisemitic incident. You did not give voice to other stakeholders who were present, including the pro-Palestine students. The incident is presented in a one-sided way to fit the accusations of antisemitism, ignoring the reporting from sources like The Link and The Maple which contradict this version of events and provide a much more complicated picture; for example, these sources reported that pro-Palestine students faced violence and threats from the pro-Israel side. To exclude their perspective completely is unacceptable.
The one-sided reporting of these controversial events gives the impression that they represent a surge of antisemitism, but this is only possible by ignoring the perspectives of others involved. Making this worse, the voiceover in the video claims that the country prides itself on diversity and inclusion but now is struggling to suppress rising hate, while showing images of pro-Palestine actions which put them in a bad light. The effect of this is to paint Palestinians and pro-Palestine demonstrators as the reason behind the rising hate and surge of antisemitic cases, and as out of touch with Canadian values. This framing risks inciting hateful attitudes towards Palestinians and Muslims in Canada, in a context in which incidents of anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia are also skyrocketing.
I, therefore, ask you to include the perspectives of pro-Palestine groups to not add fuel to hate against Palestinians and Muslims.
This brings me to the second point. While the focus of your video segment is antisemitism, you nonetheless mentioned the rise in hate crimes against Muslims in the last 26 seconds. In these brief 26 seconds, you showed images of pro-Palestine actions, and the host mentioned that Muslim hate crimes are fewer than those against Jews. This conflates the issues of Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism, which are distinct forms of bigotry and should be identified as separate.
I, therefore, ask you to mention anti-Palestinian racism in future reporting.
I strongly recommend that Global News incorporate my recommendations and exercise more caution in its future reporting of hate crimes in Canada.
Sincerely,
Fatima Haidar,
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East