At no point does Casemore interview a protestor, or a pro-Palestinian organization. While the article makes frequent reference to the possibility of antisemitic, illegal, anti-Israel or hateful incidents, Casemore does not see fit to ask the protestors how they describe their protests.
Poor coverage – Media outlet to be criticized
A CJPME Media Researcher has launched a media alert for the following article. Please submit a quick response to the media, even if it’s just a sentence or two:
Title of Piece: Jamie Casemore; “Toronto police will crack down on illegal acts at ‘escalating’ anti-Israel protests, chief says.”
Media Outlet: National Post
Click here to access the piece in the National Post
If the National Post article is behind a paywall, you can access the same piece in the Edmonton Journal:
Click here to access the piece in the Edmonton Journal
Comments of the CJPME Media Researcher:
(Note: Please do not copy and paste the material below as the content to your message to the media - put all comments in your own words):
Please join us in challenging the one-sided perspective on protests in Toronto provided by the National Post's Jamie Casemore. The piece entirely ignores the perspective of protest organizers, and implies that protests against Israel's genocide of Palestinians are inherently antisemitic. Please build your letter around 1-3 of the points below:
- While the article's entire focus is the pro-Palestinian protests in Toronto, it never attempts to explains the reasons for the protests. Nor does the article state what is written on the signs or leaflets used by protestors, or the chants used by the protestors.
- At no point does Casemore interview a protestor, or a pro-Palestinian organization. While the article makes frequent reference to the possibility of antisemitic, illegal, anti-Israel or hateful incidents, Casemore does not see fit to ask the protestors how they describe their protests.
- Casemore and the spokesperson for a pro-Israel organization he interviews assert that the ongoing protest on the Avenue Rd overpass of Highway 401 targets Jewish-Canadians, while providing no evidence. In fact, there have been protests at multiple Highway 401 overpasses in recent weeks, simply because the overpasses allow for greater visibility for a protest. And according to the Canadian Jewish News, even the neighbourhood in the vicinity of the Avenue Rd overpass is only 19% Jewish.
- The article is extremely one-sided in the way it cites the 1,200 Israelis killed on Oct. 7, but fails to provide mention of, for example, 1) the Palestinians killed in Gaza, 2) the popular support for a ceasefire, 3) the push for humanitarian aid and medicines for the Palestinians, 4) the assertions of an Israeli genocide against Palestinians; etc.
- Casemore’s article insinuates that protesting the crimes of Israel is offensive to ALL Jewish people, which improperly homogenizes the Jewish population and falsely implies that support of Israel is integral to religious Judaism.
Since we've included the email for submitting letters to the editor, you may consider writing your letter such that it could be published in the letters section. The Globe and Mail asks for letters of 150 words or less.
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Thank you very much. Every response makes a difference.
The CJPME Media Centre Team
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