"There is no justification for a “journalist” to write that APR “threatens to destroy all that it touches,” or to blame antisemitism in Canada solely on Muslim immigrants, or to fearmonger about “Islamism,” or misrepresent survey data, or invent fake data, misrepresent police claims, or lie about protest actions, just to name a handful of the violations contained in this article. The Free Press promotes values on its About page, but it appears they were thrown aside in this case. Corrective action is more than necessary to resolve these issues."
December 17, 2024
To:
Bari Weiss
Terry Glavin
Dear Bari Weiss, Terry Glavin, and The Free Press Editors,
I’m writing to express serious concern over numerous factual errors in Terry Glavin’s December 11, 2024, article, “The Explosion of Jew-Hate in Trudeau’s Canada,” published in The Free Press.
1. 670 percent, invented figure
As invited by Bari Weiss, I read the piece “carefully.” I was surprised to see a factual error even in the subheading, which is expanded upon later in the article. Glavin writes:
“Last month, a report by Israel’s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs and Combating Antisemitism found a 670 percent increase in antisemitic incidents in Canada since October 7, 2023.”
However, the Israeli Ministry report that Glavin cites and links to does not find a 670 percent increase in antisemitic incidents in Canada.[1] Instead, the report gathers a handful of cases of antisemitism and mentions the 670 percent figure citing an article by i24NEWS. This is an Israeli outlet that has been embroiled in controversy for securing a broadcast license under the agreement that it provides Netanyahu with favorable coverage,[2] and for spearheading the infamous “beheaded babies” myth in the aftermath of October 7.[3]
The i24NEWS article[4] that the Ministry cites also did not find the 670 percent figure, instead stating, “In Canada, the World Zionist Organization described a similar rise, with a 670 percent increase compared to 2023.” i24NEWS does not link to or cite any specific findings by the World Zionist Organization (WZO). Of the sources repeating the 670 percent number, I could not find any that cited any specific study by the WZO to substantiate this claim.
In January 2024, the WZO released a study on “Antisemitism in 2023.”[5] In that report, the WZO says that “independent data” after October 7, 2023, indicated a “200-800% increase in antisemitic levels compared to the same period the previous year.” A 600% range can only reasonably be considered non-scientific. Again, it is unclear if this is even the report that Terry Glavin’s statistics are based on, but it nonetheless shows just how poorly researched Glavin’s article is.
The Free Press should remove the 670 figure and issue an editor’s note, or otherwise correctly identify a reputable study that shows a “670% increase” in antisemitism in Canada and clarify that the article refers to the study rather than an Israeli government statement.
2. Montreal falsehood
Next, the article misrepresents the events that unfolded in Montreal on November 22, 2024. Glavin writes:
“Rioters organized by the organizations Divest for Palestine and the Convergence of Anti-Capitalist Struggles wreaked havoc on the city. They ignited smoke bombs, threw metal barriers into the street, and smashed windows of businesses and the convention center where the NATO delegates were meeting. The rioters torched cars. They also burned an effigy of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu.”
As reported by CBC News,[6] the car fire appears to have been started by police. The fire broke out behind police lines, and footage shows a tear gas canister-shaped hole in the window of the car. A TVA reporter at the protest[7] reported more evidence that the fire was started by police.
A Montreal police spokesperson said that the car fire mentioned above, as well as another reported incident, are both being investigated, according to The Montreal Gazette.[8]
Given the above, The Free Press should properly qualify the claim that “rioters torched cars” and clarify that this is an allegation under investigation and that there is concrete evidence pointing in the opposite direction.
3. Misrepresenting data and weaponizing Islamophobia
It is alarming how Glavin weaponizes Islamophobia in his apparent effort to raise awareness about antisemitism.
Citing a study by Robert Brym, “Jews and Israel 2024,” Glavin misrepresents specific data in order to demonize Muslims in Canada.[9] Glavin writes that “Brym’s study found that more than 40 percent of the Muslims surveyed said that suicide bombing targeting Israeli citizens is justified.” However, that is not what the survey found. The question was posed to Muslim respondents as a “positively worded question”: “There is no justification for Palestinian suicide bombers targeting Israeli civilians.” Indeed, 43% of Muslim respondents agreed with the statement. 30% of Muslim respondents disagreed with the statement, indicating they think there might be a justification.[10]
The above demonstrates that Glavin’s description of the study is false. He either misread the question or is misrepresenting it. The reality is the exact opposite of what Glavin writes. The article should state that “Brym’s study found that more than 40 percent of the Muslims surveyed said that suicide bombing targeting Israeli citizens is not justified.”
I am urging The Free Press to make a correction and issue an editor’s note.
Glavin also writes that “More than a third [of Canadian Muslims] said Jews are not entitled to a state of their own.” However, this is again misrepresenting the data. The survey asked respondents to agree or disagree with the following: “The Jewish people are entitled to a state of their own in Israel.” Glavin left out the qualifier “in Israel” here. It is an essential part of the question that almost certainly shapes the responses.
I insist that The Free Press accurately represents the study and include the qualifier “in Israel.”
4. Misrepresenting statements by police
Glavin writes that “Over the past year, as violent anti-Israel protests and attacks on Jews have become a regular feature of Canadian life, police have said they cannot keep up.” However, that is not what the police said. The Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police referred to “the frequency, duration, complexity, risks and threats of these public assemblies in cities across our country.” [11] They specifically stated that they were talking about protests related to “National issues and global conflicts.” Police did not say, as Glavin suggests, that they were explicitly concerned with “violent anti-Israel protests and attacks on Jews.” Indeed, the overwhelming majority of protests in support of Palestinians have been peaceful but still typically require police presence.
Given that Glavin misrepresents comments by police and links them to “violent anti-Israel rallies and attacks on Jews” rather than protests broadly speaking, The Free Press should correct the claim and issue an editor’s note.
5. False claim about Zionism as well as blatant Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian racism
Glavin writes, “That new idea is ‘Anti-Palestinian Racism,’ defined in such a way as to place Zionism—that is, the view held by the vast majority of Jews—beyond the pale of polite society, and potentially beyond the bounds of Canadian hate speech law.” However, a recent study commissioned by the New Israel Fund[12] found that only 51% of Canadian Jews identify as Zionists.[13] This does not constitute a “vast majority.” Given that there is no meaningful global survey on how many Jewish people identify as Zionists, most people will assume Glavin is referring to Canadian Jews. On that front, he is wrong.
I insist that The Free Press correct the claim by removing the word “vast” and adding an editor’s note.
Glavin goes on to defend Selina Robinson’s widely condemned[14] and ahistorical remark that “[Palestine] was a crappy piece of land with nothing on it” before the founding of modern Israel. He says this was “true.” It was not true. Virtually every Middle East scholar would vehemently disagree. Israeli historian Ilan Pappe said, for example, that Palestine was “the very opposite of a desert” and said the “cultural location of Palestine was very clear.”[15] Perhaps Glavin could express his affinity for this form of portraying Palestinians as some kind of backward, savage culture, but for The Free Press to print that it was “true” deserves an apology. Even in the context of op-eds, opinions should be based in fact, and this does not meet that standard.
But none of the above about op-eds even matters, because this article is not presented as “Opinion.” Indeed, Bari Weiss calls it an “investigation,” and Terry Glavin is described as a “Canadian author and journalist.” There is no justification for a “journalist” to write that APR “threatens to destroy all that it touches,” or to blame antisemitism in Canada solely on Muslim immigrants, or to fearmonger about “Islamism,” or misrepresent survey data, or invent fake data, misrepresent police claims, or lie about protest actions, just to name a handful of the violations contained in this article. The Free Press promotes values on its About page, but it appears they were thrown aside in this case. Corrective action is more than necessary to resolve these issues.
At the top of the article, the Free Press should clarify for its readers that Glavin’s piece is an Opinion article, not a rigorous piece of journalism.
Sincerely,
Jason Toney
Director of Media Advocacy, Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East
[1] Government of Israel, Antisemitism in Canada Report (October 14, 2024), https://www.gov.il/BlobFolder/reports/antisemitism_in_canada_report_14_oct_24/en/mashlat_Antisemitism%20in%20Canada%20Report%20-%20October%2014,%202024.pdf.
[2] Omer Benjakob, "How i24NEWS Turned Pro-Netanyahu to Secure Broadcast License," Haaretz, December 10, 2019, https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/.premium.MAGAZINE-how-i24news-turned-pro-netanyahu-to-secure-broadcast-license-1.8216249.
[3] Le Monde, “40 Beheaded Babies: The Itinerary of a Rumor at the Heart of the Information Battle Between Israel and Hamas,” Les Décodeurs, April 3, 2024, https://www.lemonde.fr/en/les-decodeurs/article/2024/04/03/40-beheaded-babies-the-itinerary-of-a-rumor-at-the-heart-of-the-information-battle-between-israel-and-hamas_6667274_8.html.
[4] i24NEWS, "UK, Canada Record Highest-Ever Incidents of Antisemitism in 2024," accessed June 28, 2024, https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/international/diaspora-affairs/artc-uk-canada-record-highest-ever-incidents-of-antisemitism-in-2024.
[5]World Zionist Organization, “Antisemitism in 2023,” January 2024, https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rpaRPo7JaIu6wuayjFN24bvSYKLPnQwp/view.
[6] YouTube, Short Video, 0:35, posted by YouTube Shorts, accessed June 28, 2024, https://youtube.com/shorts/4rcy5JnOWP4?feature=shared.
[7] Hadi H. Hassin (@hassinhadi), "Social Media Post," X (formerly Twitter), June 10, 2024, https://x.com/hassinhadi/status/1861099800889811122.
[8] Montreal Gazette, "Title of Article Unknown," accessed June 28, 2024, https://www.montrealgazette.com/news/article567282.html.
[9] Avi Lewis, "Title of Article Unknown," Canadian Journal of Sociology 40, no. 3 (2024): 45–60, https://cjs.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cjs/article/view/40368.
[10] Avi Lewis, "Title of Article Unknown," Canadian Journal of Sociology 40, no. 3 (2024): 49, https://cjs.journals.yorku.ca/index.php/cjs/article/view/40368/36623.
[11] Global News, “Police Call for More Help as Protests Increase,” June 28, 2024, https://globalnews.ca/news/10696453/police-call-more-help-increasing-protests/.
[12] New Israel Fund of Canada, “Survey: Canadian Jews Divided Over Israel and Canadian Politics,” NIFCAN, accessed June 28, 2024, https://nifcan.org/survey-canadian-jews-divided-over-israel-and-canadian-politics/.
[13] Haaretz, “Poll: Most Canadian Jews Back Israel as Jewish State, but Half Don’t Identify as Zionists,” December 10, 2024, https://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/2024-12-10/ty-article/.premium/poll-most-canadian-jews-back-israel-as-jewish-state-but-half-dont-identify-as-zionists/00000193-ae3d-d812-a3d3-afbdca5a0000.
[14] Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East, “CJPME Calls for Resignation of Robinson Over Comments,” February 5, 2024, https://www.cjpme.org/pr_2024_02_05_robinson_resign.
[15] Ricochet, “A Closer Look at the Racist Myth at the Heart of Robinson’s Comments,” Ricochet, February 2024, https://ricochet.media/politics/a-closer-look-at-the-racist-myth-at-the-heart-of-robinsons-comments/.