Housefather’s tweet, including the picture of the poster you link, reads: “My family has been there since the 19th century, and we have indeed helped build this country. I am not going anywhere. Sorry antisemites. You may not like what I have to say but I will keep saying it and I will keep being a proud Jew and a Zionist.”
July 12, 2024
To:
Christina Leadlay, Associate Editor, Hill Times
Kate Malloy, Editor, Hill Times
Charelle Evelyn, Managing Editor, Hill Times
Dear Christina Leadlay, Kate Malloy, and Charelle Evelyn,
I am writing to request a minor correction for the article: “PM formalizes Housefather as Jewish community special adviser,” published on July 10 in Hill Times.
I take foremost issue with you describing the poster targeting Housefather as antisemitic.
You write: “In his new gig, Housefather – who was recently the target of antisemitic posters in his Montreal riding – will work alongside Special Envoy on Preserving Holocaust Remembrance and Combatting Antisemitism Deborah Lyons.”
It is inaccurate and unfair to report the poster incident as antisemitic.
Housefather’s tweet, including the picture of the poster you link, reads: “My family has been there since the 19th century, and we have indeed helped build this country. I am not going anywhere. Sorry antisemites. You may not like what I have to say but I will keep saying it and I will keep being a proud Jew and a Zionist.”
While the poster clearly condemned Housefather for his Zionist (not Jewish) ideology, Housefather’s response on social media demonstrates his tendency to deflect any legitimate criticism by deeming it as antisemitic.
Drawing parallels between the State of Israel’s policies (Zionism) and Neo-Nazism and terrorism is not the same as drawing parallels between Judaism and Neo-Nazism or terrorism. The poster was in reference to Housefather’s self-identification as Zionist and not his Jewish identity. Housefather’s full social media post demonstrates his conflation of antisemitism and anti-Zionism and, thus, his persistent attempts at mischaracterizing legitimate criticism of himself and the Zionist project he staunchly supports as unbridled antisemitism. Reporting this event as antisemitic dangerously enables his conflation of anti-Zionism and antisemitism.
I, therefore, ask you to change the words “antisemitic” to “anti-Israel” or to remove “antisemitic” as it is inaccurate to describe the incident as antisemitic.
I hope Hill Times will make this minor correction by not describing the poster as antisemitic.
Sincerely,
Fatima Haidar,
Media Analyst, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East