"A core principle of ethical journalism is independence from external influences, yet you have aligned yourself with an organization that promotes a singular, partisan narrative on Israel-Palestine. By accepting this award, you have made it clear that National Post is not a neutral publication but a politically driven platform."
February 5, 2025
To:
Rob Roberts, Editor-in-Chief, National Post
Dear Mr. Roberts,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East to express my deep concern over National Post’s continued reliance on the far-right Jewish News Syndicate (JNS) for coverage of Israel and Palestine and particularly with the article “Hamas condemns Trump's Gaza resettlement plan as 'ridiculous.'”Your close ties to JNS, as well as your admitted ideological one-sidedness, raises serious ethical concerns about the integrity of your reporting.
Conflict of Interest
JNS openly honored you and National Post for your coverage of Israel, praising your newspaper as essential in “covering Jew hatred in Canada since Oct. 7.” Receiving an award from a pro-Israel media outlet while overseeing National Post’s Middle East coverage is a blatant conflict of interest that compromises any claim of editorial independence.
A core principle of ethical journalism is independence from external influences, yet you have aligned yourself with an organization that promotes a singular, partisan narrative on Israel-Palestine. By accepting this award, you have made it clear that National Post is not a neutral publication but a politically driven platform.
In the same JNS article, you explicitly stated that “Conrad Black founded the National Post as an explicitly Zionist newspaper, and it has always been that way in its commentary.”
This statement shatters any pretense of objectivity. If National Post is an openly Zionist newspaper, then it should clearly disclose this to readers instead of misleading them into believing they are getting balanced journalism. Your paper’s editorial stance is not dictated by journalistic integrity but by ideological loyalty to Israel.
I bring this up because your paper and writer continuously criticize other media and Canadian civil society organizations “for taking information from Hamas at face value,” but simultaneously you admit that while Canada and the U.S. designate Hamas as a terrorist group, you acknowledge that this is not a universal designation and many countries do not classify Hamas as a terrorist organization. Despite this, the National Post generalizes Hamas as a terrorist group in all contexts, while failing to apply any equivalent critical language to Israel, despite its documented war crimes, apartheid policies, and systematic destruction of Palestinian infrastructure.
If National Post acknowledges that Hamas’s designation as a terrorist organization is not universally accepted—given that the United Nations, along with multiple countries, does not classify Hamas as such—then why does the newspaper consistently refuse to reflect this nuance in its reporting?
This international divergence must be stated whenever militant groups are labeled as “terrorists.” If National Post chooses to exclude this context, it should publicly clarify its editorial stance rather than selectively applying the designation to reinforce a particular narrative.
Stop jumping back and forth between using this label inconsistently. Own your position—either commit to acknowledging the global perspective, or be transparent that you are a Zionist newspaper and explain why you refuse to do so.
Additionally, it has come to my attention that you, along with other Canadian journalists—Terry Glavin, Brian Lilley, and Adrienne Batra—visited Israel as part of a delegation.
Yet, National Post has failed to disclose whether this trip was funded by the Israeli government, pro-Israel lobbying groups, or other political interests.
Did a foreign government or political lobby pay for this trip? If so, that information should be fully disclosed to readers in order to be transparent with your editorial independence.
Your Latest JNS Propaganda piece
Let's get straight to this article.
Trump’s ethnic cleansing proposal of forcibly removing Palestinians from Gaza is presented as a neutral or even plausible idea. Instead of scrutinizing its blatant illegality under international law, the article merely cites Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) as opposing it. It ignores the voices of international law experts, human rights organizations, or UN officials who have unequivocally condemned forced displacement. Worse, it subtly legitimizes Trump’s claim by repeating his baseless speculation that Egypt and Jordan would accept Gazan refugees despite both nations’ clear, repeated, and categorical opposition.
And let’s talk about this line: “Hostages are being released in stages in return for terrorists held by Israel.”
Do you honestly believe every Palestinian prisoner is a “terrorist”?
Most of these Palestinian “prisoners” are held under administrative detention. According to human rights organizations, Israel’s dual legal system constitutes apartheid, as it enforces separate and unequal treatment based on nationality and ethnicity. Under this system, Palestinians, including children, are often detained without charge or trial under administrative detention orders. As of December 1, 2024, Israeli authorities held 2,873 Palestinians in administrative detention, marking a three-decade high. Amnesty International has documented the systematic use of torture and degrading treatment of Palestinian detainees, including beatings, stress positions, and denial of medical care, all of which violate international law.
Given this context, these detainees are not conventional prisoners and it’s better to describe them as hostages. This distinction is critical, as it challenges the implicit narrative that Palestinians in Israeli prisons have all been convicted of criminal offenses, when in reality, many are held without charge or trial.
Reframing their status as hostages better reflects the power dynamics at play and highlights the broader context of occupation and human rights violations by Israel.
Since you referred to the Israelis in the exchange as hostages, it seems only fair to refer to the Palestinians in the same manner. Failure to do so is a double-standard.
Your public alignment with JNS, your admission that National Post is a Zionist newspaper, and your failure to disclose pro-Israel press trips confirm that your publication is not a neutral journalistic outlet but an ideological platform advancing Israeli narratives.
I will be filing a formal complaint with the Quebec Press Council (QPC) and the National NewsMedia Council (NNC) over National Post’s continued disregard for journalistic integrity. I will also be notifying Postmedia’s financial backers and key advertisers about this blatant failure in ethical reporting.
Silence won’t make this go away. Expect more scrutiny.
Sincerely,
Anthony Issa
Media Analyst
Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East