"By giving CIJA this platform without offering any balanced representation from Palestinian or Muslim voices, your segment reinforces harmful stereotypes against Palestinians - framing anyone resisting Israel’s apartheid policies as a threat."
October 10, 2024
To:
Alyssia Rubertucci, Journalist, CityNews Montreal
Amar Sodhi, News Director, CityNews Montreal
Melanie Porco, Supervising Producer, CityNews Montreal
Dear Ms. Rubertucci, Ms. Sodhi, and Ms. Porco,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) to express serious concerns regarding your news segment aired at 5:35 on Wednesday, October 9, 2024, on CityNews Montreal.
In particular, I take issue with the segment from 5:36:35 to 5:38:05, which addressed the rise of antisemitism and Arab Muslim hate crimes in Canada following the events of October 7th and Israel’s ongoing military siege and genocide in Gaza. Your coverage was heavily one-sided as it briefly mentioned the rise in hate crimes against Arab Muslims but then shifted immediately to give an unchallenged platform to CIJA’s Vice President, Eta Yudin, who focused solely on Jewish Canadians feeling unsafe.
The script reads: “also seen in the Arabic Muslim community going from 28% to 75%.”
First, I want to highlight that “Arabic” refers to a language, not a demographic group. If you are referring to the people, the correct term is “Arab,” not “Arabic.”
More importantly, CityNews handed CIJA a platform to vilify Palestinians and their supporters, framing Palestinian protests and activism as threats. This perpetuates fear and hatred towards Palestinians and their supporters resisting Israel’s decades-long policies of dispossession, violent occupation, and now an ongoing genocide in Gaza. By giving CIJA this platform without offering any balanced representation from Palestinian or Muslim voices, your segment reinforces harmful stereotypes against Palestinians - framing anyone resisting Israel’s apartheid policies as a threat.
Even when you did briefly mention the increase in hate crimes against Arab Muslims, it was overshadowed by the platform given to CIJA. It is important to recognize that one of CIJA’s primary goals is “strengthening the Canada-Israel friendship,” and their agenda often includes portraying Palestinian activism as violent or extreme. A review of the Federal Issues Guide on their website suggests that CIJA can be best described as a pro-Israel advocacy organization.
By allowing CIJA to dominate the conversation without giving Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim voices equal voice, CityNews fails to meet basic journalistic standards by silencing Arab, Muslim, and Palestinians and their narratives.
I sincerely hope that CityNews has plans to incorporate more Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim voices in upcoming broadcasts.
Sincerely,
Lynn Naji
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East