Recent article conflates antisemitism with anti-zionism

"The dinner you reported about featured a conversation with actress Mayim Bialik who identifies as a Zionist – a supporter of the Israeli colonial project to establish a Jewish national home by ethnically cleansing Palestinians from their homeland. The demonstrators were protesting against funding Israel’s colonial project, making this incident a case of anti-zionism, not antisemitism. Conflating anti-zionism with antisemitism is misleading and does not accurately represent the motivations behind such protests."


June 26, 2024

To:

Chris Kitching, Journalist, Winnipeg Free Press

Stacey Thidrickson, Associate Editor, Winnipeg Free Press

Joshua Frey-Sam, Editor, Winnipeg Free Press

Paul Samyn, Editor, Winnipeg Free Press

Dear Chris Kitching, Stacey Thidrickson, Joshua Frey-Sam, and Paul Samyn

I’m writing to you on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME, https://www.cjpme.org) to express my concerns regarding the article: “Under threat by war on the other side of the globe” published on June 21, 2024, on Winnipeg Free Press.

Your write: “Police monitored the RBC Convention Centre Thursday while the Jewish National Fund of Canada’s regional office hosted the Negev Dinner, which featured a conversation with actress Mayim Bialik.” While the article rightly addresses the disturbing rise in hate-motivated incidents affecting Winnipeg’s Jewish and Palestinian communities, I find it troubling that you provide this incident as an example of antisemitism while in fact, it is not.

Unfortunately, you do not mention that the JNF is a private corporation in Israel established through the forced displacement of Palestinians from their lands. JNF Canada, the fundraising arm of the JNF, collects millions of dollars annually for its projects in Israel each year, benefitting from tax deductible donations owing to its charitable status. The dinner you reported about featured a conversation with actress Mayim Bialik who identifies as a Zionist – a supporter of the Israeli colonial project to establish a Jewish national home by ethnically cleansing Palestinians from their homeland.

The demonstrators were protesting against funding Israel’s colonial project, making this incident a case of anti-zionism, not antisemitism. Conflating anti-zionism with antisemitism is misleading and does not accurately represent the motivations behind such protests.

I, therefore, urge The Winnipeg Free Press to reconsider the inclusion of this incident in the article.

I hope Winnipeg Free Press takes my edits into consideration now and in future reporting on antisemitism and Islamophobia – and distinguishes between criticisms of political ideologies and hate-motivated acts. Factual accuracy and context are crucial for fostering informed public discourse on such sensitive issues.

Sincerely,

Lynn Naji

Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East