On June 20, 2024, CJPME informed the Canadian Jewish News (CJN) that their article featured a false headline. The story, originally titled “Hundreds rallied outside Toronto school board offices to protest a racism report that doesn’t mention antisemitism,” was about a Toronto District School Board (TSDB) discrimination policy. The report in question, Combating Hate and Racism: Student Learning Strategy, mentions antisemitism six times. While CJN framed the issue around the omission of antisemitism, most protesters actually opposed the inclusion of anti-Palestinian racism in the report.
In order to resolve the false headline, CJN changed it to “Hundreds rallied outside Toronto school board offices to protest a racism report that doesn’t mention rising antisemitism.” This new headline is not entirely true either or is at least deliberately misleading. The article’s framing suggests that this represents some kind of double standard in the report. However, the report does not discuss the rise in any specific form of hate. Rather, it states, “Incidents related to hate and racism have seen a significant rise globally and nationally.” Given that it lists antisemitism as a form of hate, it can be safely assumed that they are referring to its rise along with other forms.
The CJN new editor’s note reads “CORRECTION: While the original headline on this story indicated the report doesn’t mention antisemitism at all, that is incorrect as the report references it six times, without alluding to the recent rise.”
Ultimately, the CJN is masking the reality that protesters came to the TSDB board meeting to protest anti-Palestinian racism. This was a shameful protest, and it should not be misrepresented. While CJPME appreciates the correction, we believe it is inadequate and remains misleading.