"The examples demonstrate two things: 1. his anti-Israel stance, which is conflated with antisemitism, and 2. that the media wants to make him guilty by association when he should not bear the responsibility for the people invited to panels where he gave talks."
June 27, 2024
To:
Marilena Lucci, Editor in Chief, Montreal Gazette
Jeff Blond, Managing Editor, Montreal Gazette
Dear Marilena Lucci, and Jeff Blond,
I am writing to express concern for your article: “Ottawa to investigate new head of Human Rights Commission over allegations of antisemitism,” published on June 25.
It appears that the same article was published in many media outlets, such as Sudbury Star, Edmonton Journal, London Free Press, and Prince George Post, under a different headline: “Ottawa to investigate new head of Human Rights Commission over allegations of anti-Israel activity.”
While I am not here to defend the new head of the Human Rights Commission, Birju Dattani, it is misleading and unfair to accuse him of antisemitism, especially considering that the opening sentence of your article is: “The federal government announced it is opening up an investigation of Birju Dattani, the newly appointed head of the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC), after allegations of anti-Israel activism.”
Furthermore, if one reads the complete article, it is unclear what the basis of the antisemitism accusations against Dattani is. The article provides some details of his past activities:
· Dattani shared the stage with a member (Adnan Khan) of an Islamic fundamentalist group, Hizb Ut Tahrir, in an event hosted by the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in the United Kingdom’s Muslim Students’ Association
· In 2014 and 2015, Dattani repeatedly lectured during “Israel Apartheid Week” at British Universities about the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement
· Dattani attended a protest organized by the Palestine Solidarity Campaign in 2012 outside the Israel embassy in London, where the crowd chanted, “Zionism is terrorism,” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
· Following the 2012 protest, Dattani is quoted as saying: “recent act of aggression by the state of Israel in the occupied Palestinian territory is what brought me here tonight,” “international community act upon the innumerable (UN) Security Council resolutions that Israel has trampled upon with impunity,” and “workers should boycott Israel and Israeli goods.”
· “In 2014, Dattani spoke on a panel at a Turkish university with Isama Qashoo, a member of the Mavi Marmara flotilla, who was arrested four years earlier for trying to breach Israel’s naval cordon of the Gaza Strip.”
The examples demonstrate two things: 1. his anti-Israel stance, which is conflated with antisemitism, and 2. that the media wants to make him guilty by association when he should not bear the responsibility for the people invited to panels where he gave talks.
As one reads the article, it becomes more apparent that the accusations stem from the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), a pro-Israel organization that has a history of conflating anti-Zionism with antisemitism. It is also the only organization quoted that seems to have had an issue with his appointment.
I, therefore, ask you at the very least to change your headline to: “The federal government announced it is opening up an investigation of Birju Dattani, the newly appointed head of the Canadian Human Rights Commission (CHRC), after allegations of anti-Israel activism” so that it is consistent with other media outlets that have published the same article.
I hope you will make this change and be more cautious when reporting on antisemitism and anti-Zionism in the future.
Sincerely,
Fatima Haidar,
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East