The Media Accountability Project  

The protests you are referring to were vigils by the local Jewish community in support of the hostages. The way you have worded and placed this line makes it seem like the pro-Palestine demonstrations were taking place there. I don’t know if this is a mistake or by design but either way it violates all journalistic standards of accuracy and should be re-written to convey the truth of the matter.

"Hopper selectively omits vital details throughout the piece, thereby further misleading the reader into thinking that the CRA’s actions are baseless."

"Without identifying these supposed actors, the phrase 'terrorist-backed' becomes meaningless at best and misleading at worst. This is either a breakdown in the Post’s editorial standards or a deliberate use of sensationalist language to provoke a strong reaction out of your audience."

The article glorifies the “joint Israeli-US opening salvo” against the Islamic Republic, while failing to mention the mounting death toll from the U.S./Israeli bombing. In particular, there is no reference to the airstrike on the Shajareh Tayyebeh girls' elementary school in Minab that killed approximately 165 people, most of them girls, despite it occurring during the opening and illegal assault. By omitting this verified atrocity, the article fails to provide accurate, balanced information to readers. 

On January 13, 2026, CJPME launched a media alert to the National Post challenging Barbara Kay’s column, “If the state and police won’t protect Jews, who will?”, which praised the Canadian branch of the Jewish Defence League (JDL) as non-violent. 

CJPME highlighted that the JDL is a far-right organization founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane, shares ideological roots with the terrorist group Kahane Chai (Kach), and has coordinated with the U.S. branch of the JDL, which is considered a terrorist organization by the FBI. 

The Canadian branch also has a documented history of assaults, intimidation of pro-Palestinian demonstrators, and affiliations with far-right extremist networks. CJPME called on the Post to provide accurate context and avoid normalizing a vigilante group with a history of violence.

In response, the National Post updated the column to include a reference to a 2017 assault arrest by a JDL Canada member. However, rather than make a clear and obvious correction, the National Post merely added the word “mostly” in front of “squeaky clean” in reference to the illegal actions by the JDL. The edit falls far short of the corrections these falsehoods merited.

The update also admits that the claims of non-violence come from a phone interview with Meir Weinstein, rather than being statements of fact.

Meir Weinstein was one of the co-founders of the Canadian branch of the JDL. Weinstein openly identifies as a “loyal disciple” of Kahane and regularly discusses his admiration for him. 

In January 2026, Meir Weinstein was arrested and charged with assault at a demonstration outside the Prosserman Jewish Community Centre (JCC) in the Bathurst and Sheppard area of Toronto. It is alleged that Mr. Weinstein approached a protester who was objecting to Israeli comedian Guy Hochman’s appearance at the venue. Weinstein pushed the protester, causing him to fall to the ground.

Original:

In 2015, when BDS activism was already aggressive, the Toronto-based Jewish Defence League of Canada (JDL) — defunct since 2021 — wanted to open a Montreal branch. JDL Canada never carried any weapons. They did not mask. They wore self-identifying vests. They never initiated any physical confrontation(...)

Legally, they were squeaky clean, but were perceived as tainted through name association with the American JDL, which wasn’t.

Revision:

In 2015, when BDS activism was already aggressive, the Toronto-based Jewish Defence League of Canada (JDL) — defunct since 2021 — wanted to open a Montreal branch. JDL Canada never carried any weapons. According to Meir Weinstein, former head of JDL Canada, whom I interviewed by telephone, his team never carried any weapons, and it was not their policy to mask. They wore self-identifying vests. Weinstein also told me they did not initiate physical confrontation (...)

Legally, they were mostly squeaky clean (a JDL member was arrested for assault in 2017), but were perceived as tainted through name association with the American JDL, which wasn’t.

Editor’s note: This column has been updated to include reference to a JDL member who was arrested for assault in 2017.

In this partial-correction, the National Post acknowledged the need for greater transparency regarding the activities of extremist groups in opinion coverage. 

Although a full-correction is overdue, the outcome of this update demonstrates the effectiveness of CJPME’s media advocacy in holding mainstream Canadian media accountable for misrepresenting far-right organizations.

CJPME will continue to monitor Postmedia’s attempts at platforming far-right zionist groups to counter their normalization of extremist organizations in mainstream Canadian media.

"This National Post column by Barbara Kay calls for the normalization of the Jewish Defence League (JDL), a far-right vigilante group that is considered a terrorist organization by the FBI in the United States."

"For the above reasons, this op-ed violates basic journalistic standards, even the most limited ones that apply to opinion articles. The author and its publisher should apologize and correct this work of fiction that perpetuates harmful lies about Palestinians and their advocates."

This National Post article uses inflammatory and misleading language to smear Palestinian protesters at Saint John’s Culturefest. The piece frames the demonstration as an antisemitic attack, erases its political context, and presents unverified allegations as fact. Such coverage perpetuates anti-Palestinian racism and silences Palestinian voices in Canada.