On October 20, 2025, the Black Press media outlet Penticton Western News published an article titled “Penticton Summerland MLA to exit BC Conservative caucus over party leader.”
In the original version, the story made unsubstantiated claims of antisemitism directed at CJPME:
“The only post that Rustad might have referred to or considered anti-semitic was a copy of a message partially preserved by the Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East group where Boultbee blasted the United Nations for not doing anything while children in Gaza were being killed and said that war crimes and genocide were being streamed in 4K.”
CJPME’s post merely documented MLA Amelia Boultbee’s deleted Facebook statement condemning Israel’s war crimes and the killing of civilians in Gaza. There was absolutely nothing antisemitic in our content. By suggesting that our post “could be considered antisemitic,” the journalist inserted a subjective and baseless opinion unsupported by evidence or context. The phrasing by Black Press reporter Brennan Phillips misrepresented CJPME’s work while reinforcing anti-Palestinian racism in the media that criticism of Israeli actions is equivalent to antisemitism.
Following a letter by CJPME Media Analyst Anthony Issa demanding a correction, Penticton Western News revised the story to remove the false implication.
The graph was reworked as follows:
The only post that Boultbee has shared that references Gaza or Israel is in a now-deleted Facebook post that was shared and partially preserved by the Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East group.
The following editor’s note was added at the end of the article:
“This story has been updated to clarify language that it was Rustad who claimed Boultbee shared anti-semitic messaging, and the CJPME’s post did not contain antisemitic material, nor was there any basis for implying otherwise.”
This correction and editor’s note represent an important acknowledgment of CJPME’s accurate and legitimate advocacy. CJPME will not allow journalists or media outlets to misrepresent our advocacy for Palestinian human rights or smear us as antisemitic for speaking the truth.