By framing the vandalism as part of a broader pattern of attacks targeting Jewish businesses, despite the absence of a confirmed motive, the National Post is misleading its readers about the circumstances of the incident.
To the National Post,
I am writing on behalf of Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East regarding the article published on November 9, titled: “Montreal kosher pizza place vandalized in latest spate of attacks on Jewish businesses.”
The article reports on the vandalism of a kosher restaurant in Montreal’s Côte-des-Neiges neighbourhood, where a heavy rock was thrown through the restaurant’s window. The article’s headline frames the incident as part of a broader pattern of attacks targeting Jewish businesses, suggesting that the restaurant was targeted because of its Jewish identity, despite the motive remaining unconfirmed.
Notably, the article itself acknowledges uncertainty surrounding the incident, quoting StandWithUs Canada stating that “The circumstances surrounding last night’s incident remain unclear. We will continue to follow this developing story.”
In reporting by the Montreal Gazette, the restaurant’s owner, Uri Peretz, explicitly cautioned against assuming that the incident was antisemitic, stating: “To somehow just assume that that’s antisemitic, I think it’s wrong.”
By framing the vandalism as part of a broader pattern of attacks targeting Jewish businesses, despite the absence of a confirmed motive, the National Post is misleading its readers about the circumstances of the incident.
We therefore ask the National Post to update the article to include the restaurant owner’s explicit caution against assuming an antisemitic motive and to revise the headline to avoid implying that such a motive has been established when the investigation is ongoing and, according to the Montreal Gazette’s reporting, the policy hate-crimes unit had not been assigned to the case.
Media Analyst. Canadians for Justice in the Middle East