CMAJ Editor-in-Chief Responds

CMAJ Editor-in-Chief Responds March 25, 2009   By: Mike Fegelman, Executive Director   View this Article Online and Discuss on Headlines and Deadlines   Dear HonestReporting Canada subscriber, In a recent HonestReporting Canada alert dated March 18, we questioned why the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) would insert anti-Israel rhetoric into a "neutral" medical journal. We felt that by allowing crude anti-Israel propaganda to masquerade on its pages as legitimate discourse, the CMAJ failed to live up to its mission statement and instead promoted a grossly distorted picture of the Gaza health care system and the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas. Thanks to your many emails, the CMAJ has acknowledged that they could have been more sensitive by balancing their reports rather than publishing two alone on the Gaza Strip. Furthermore, the Journal has said that it will continue to publish letters on the matter, while inviting submissions for perspectives relating the health consequences of war in Israel and on Israelis. Writing on the HonestReporting Canada website yesterday, CMAJ Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Paul Hebert stated the following: I am writing in response to your posting concerning 2 articles published in the March 17 issue of CMAJ and the subsequent emails we have received. We did not intend to take a position on the conflict in Gaza. We published the articles to provide a perspective on the health-related and health infrastructure consequences of war which is within our purview as a medical journal. We are sorry if this made it seem like we were taking sides in the conflict. It was certainly not intended. As we have stated in a response on our website, cmaj.ca, we welcome submissions that provide perspectives on the health effects of conflict in regions around the world including Israel, from people such as physicians who are treating wounded. In a note regarding the "health impacts of war' posted on the CMAJ website, Dr. Hebert acknowledged that: Most letter writers seemed aggrieved that the articles failed to condemn the Palestinians and Hamas for their actions prior to the commencement of Israel's "Operation Cast Lead" military campaign on Dec. 27, 2008. Similarly, most letters appeared to be the product of a campaign launched by a group called "HonestReporting Canada," which condemned the articles and asked its members to contact CMAJ and express their dissatisfaction. In retrospect, publishing 2 articles on a single subject in one issue, albeit and industry norm, may have somehow made it appear to some readers that CMAJ was taking an editorial position on the Arab-Israeli conflict. This is certainly not the case. For those who would like to see the health effects better described for people in Israel, we invite submissions on the health-related consequences of war, whether in the Middle East or anywhere else in the world. As of 4:30 p.m. Mar. 24, 2009, CMAJ has received over 250 letters in response to the 2 articles, which we will continue to post. As always, we welcome your insight, and invite you to continue articulating your opinions. While Dr. Hebert's reply did not answer the many deficiencies we pointed out, nor did he acknowledge how these reports managed to get through peer review, we do credit the CMAJ for recognizing that their coverage was open to the appearance of bias as it seemed that the Journal was "taking sides in the conflict." Notwithstanding, in light of the seriousness of this situation and in order for the CMAJ to maintain its credibility, HonestReporting Canada calls upon the Journal to implement stricter quality control protocols to ensure that their editorial policies are followed and respected. HonestReporting Canada would also like to commend its many subscribers for their prompt action. As of today, the CMAJ has published a remarkable 49 letters to its website (see here and here) which condemned the publication of over-simplified, misleading, and incomplete views of the health care situation in the Gaza Strip, which had blamed Israel alone for all of the territory's ills. How You Can Make A Difference: If you would like to take Dr. Hebert up on his offer to better describe the health effects on Israelis in the wake of the recent war or to detail the very real physical and psychological trauma prompted by years of Hamas rocket and other terrorist attacks on Israelis, please contact the CMAJ at 1-800 663-7336 x 2295 or pubs@cmaj.ca to express your interest in submitting a formal manuscript.               Toronto Office: P.O. Box 6, Station Q Toronto, Ontario M4T 2L7 Montreal Office: P.O. Box 42508, Succursale Snowdon Montreal, Quebec H3W 3H7 Office: (416) 915-9157 E-mail: info@honestreporting.ca Web: www.honestreporting.ca

You are currently subscribed to honestreportingcanada as: pressing4truth.canada@blogger.com To unsubscribe click here or send a blank email to leave-9683007-30846861.70055780e4c7785a46ecfd4be95feb9c@pr1.netatlantic.com

Correcting Canadian Columnists' Canards

Correcting Canadian Columnists' Canards March 9, 2009 By: Mike Fegelman Dear HonestReporting Canada subscriber:                                                      Syndicated columnists are paid to put forward highly opinionated and sometimes controversial points of view. In contrast to reporters these pundits are not neutral. Their commentaries are printed in various Canadian newspapers to reflect a diverse range of opinion, to add to the marketplace of ideas, and to articulate the various shades of gray on any given subject, especially one as polarized as the Middle East. While columnists are entitled to their opinions, their own personal politics cannot supersede adherence to strict standards of ethical, accurate, and honest journalism. A columnist who gives expert opinion must also base it on accurate information – anything short of that requires swift corrections. Haroon Siddiqui Strikes Again Toronto Star columnist Haroon Siddiqui (well known for his criticisms of Israel) recently claimed in a column he authored on March 1 that Israeli forces had carried out an "attack on a UN-run school." Contrary to this statement, Israel never attacked the UN-run school. An investigative report by the Globe & Mail's Patrick Martin confirmed underreported Israeli accounts that the IDF accurately returned fire to the location from which it was being shelled by Hamas terrorists who were located across the street from the school. HonestReporting Canada brought this matter to the attention of Toronto Star editors who commendably acknowledged that Mr. Siddiqui's statement could have been written in a clearer manner. On March 4 the Star promptly issued the following clarification to remedy Mr. Siddiqui's error: Simpson Skews BBC Poll Writing in the Globe and Mail on February 9, columnist Jeffrey Simpson (pictured) commented on a recently released BBC World Service Poll which judged the popularity (or lack thereof) of various countries around the World. In reference to Israel Mr. Simpson wrote: "Israelis likely do not care and Iranians probably do not know, but theirs are two of the least popular countries in the world. Throw Pakistan into the mix, and the annual BBC World Service poll gives us three of the world's least popular countries."  "Israelis are accustomed to believing that most of the world is against them, so the poll's result will hardly surprise them. To be precise, the poll asked respondents in 21 countries whether other countries were playing a "positive" or "negative" role in the world. Only 21 per cent of respondents said Israel played a positive role; 71 per cent said it played a negative one. In only one country – the United States – did Israel receive a slightly positive rating." Contrary to this statement, only "51 per cent" of those polled in the BBC's World Service Poll indicated that Israel played a "negative role" not 71 per cent. Mr Simpson was off by a whopping 20% margin. In light of this information, we asked Globe and Mail editors to correct Mr. Simpson's factual error. On February 11, the Globe issued the following correction to set the record straight: Rick Salutin Peddles "Israel Apartheid Week's" 4 Myths Keeping with the Globe & Mail, columnist Rick Salutin's March 5 column peddled four of the big myths promulgated by "Israel Apartheid Week" organizers. HonestReporting editor Pesach Benson fisked Salutin's polemic: Myth: The "apartheid" label stems from the security fence. Salutin writes: "Cabinet minister Jason Kenney calls Israel Apartheid Week "a systematic effort to delegitimize the democratic homeland of the Jewish people" by linking it to racism, a line virtually mouthed by Opposition Leader Michael Ignatieff. That is way too cute. Any "settler state," such as Canada, which took someone else's land, can be seen as illegitimate. But it's an abstract point. "Apartheid" became widely used in this context only when Israel began building what came to be called an apartheid wall, looming over Palestinians, sequestering more land, cutting them off from each other." Fact: The apartheid label was generated by the rabid participants of the 2001 Durban conference, nearly a whole year before Israel decided to build its security fence. Myth: The security fence divides the West Bank into "Bantustans." According to Salutin: "The usage grew as Israel expanded settlements, built Israeli-only roads and set up checkpoints so Palestinians would at best be left with "Bantustans," such as those that apartheid South Africa offered blacks, rather than a true state of their own." Fact: The fence, checkpoints and roads are for Israel's security, not to segregate people. In 2007, Islamic Jihad chief Ramadan Shalah confirmed as much to Hezbollah's Al-Manar TV that the Israel's security measures effectively thwarts terror attacks. Myth: Jewish students shouldn't be overly concerned by the campus debate's invective. Salutin says: "Most of the specifics come down to shouts at protests. As in: "Cries of 'Die, Jew' and 'Get the hell off campus' were heard." The Canadian Jewish Congress's Bernie Farber says he's "never" seen it this bad "on the streets of Toronto and university campuses." Well, I spend lots of time on streets in Toronto and it doesn't look like Kristallnacht to me. But wait, that's glib. It's these images that scare my friends: They evoke Nazi Germany. I know that. But Nazi Germany wasn't about name-calling and group hate. Those will persist, perhaps always. The Holocaust occurred largely because anti-Semitism was historically rooted and respectable there: religiously, socially, intellectually, politically. Writers and politicians were proudly anti-Semitic. Here, anti-Semitism is unacceptable in all those ways. This whole debate proves it. We should be glad for that, and keep it in perspective."   Fact: The Jewish students of 1930s Germany received similar reassurances by people no less well-meaning or enlightened than Salutin. See more sober reactions from McGill's Professor Gil Troy and Israeli Bedouin diplomat Ishmael Khaldi. Myth: Hamas can accommodate the existence of Israel. According to Salutin: "Even Hamas has a (nuanced) position on living with Israel. You can look it up." Fact: Okay, I looked up the Hamas charter. Here's what Salutin confuses for "nuance." According to the charter: "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it" (The Martyr, Imam Hassan al-Banna, of blessed memory) . . .  [Peace] initiatives, the so-called peaceful solutions, and the international conferences to resolve the Palestinian problem, are all contrary to the beliefs of the Islamic Resistance Movement. . . There is no solution to the Palestinian problem except by Jihad." Moreover, on closer look, the charter notes early on Hamas' identification with the Muslim Brotherhood, an international movement with branches in Egypt, Jordan, even the US, and UK. International movements like the Muslim Brotherhood don't have a track record for the kind of nuance Salutin puts his faith in. How You Can Make A Difference While Mr. Salutin is entitled to fair comment, he is not immune from receiving legitimate criticism for his comments. Please send your thoughts to the Globe and Mail by pointing out one of the aforementioned myths and refer to Mr. Salutin's March 5th op-ed entitled "Israel, Apartheid, anti-Semites". Letters to the editor should be sent to letters@globeandmail.com Please remember to include your name, address and daytime telephone number to ensure your chance for publication on the letters page.    HonestReporting.ca To support our continued efforts to hold the Canadian news media accountable for their reporting on Israel, please donate here today. Through your donations, you can help ensure that Canadian journalists are held to the highest standards of "Honest Reporting." Or send a cheque to: HonestReporting Canada P.O. Box 6, Station Q, Toronto, Ontario M4T 2L7 (416) 915-9157 Thank you for your ongoing commitment to fair and accurate media coverage of Israel and the Middle East

You are currently subscribed to honestreportingcanada as: pressing4truth.canada@blogger.com To unsubscribe click here or send a blank email to leave-9527229-30846861.70055780e4c7785a46ecfd4be95feb9c@pr1.netatlantic.com

CBC Bans Anti-Semitic Comments and Commentators

CBC Bans Anti-Semitic Comments and Commentators March 5, 2009 A guest article by Brian Henry (An earlier version of this piece appeared in the March 3, 2009 edition of the Jewish Tribune) Until recently, the CBC was one of Canada's largest publishers of anti-Semitic material and, in some ways, still is. The problem wasn't the CBC reporters; it was the audience, posting anti-Semitic attacks on the CBC web site. Courtesy of the Canadian taxpayer, anti-Semites could reach far more people by posting on CBC.ca than through the wacko sites that specialize in Jew-hatred. Worse, they reached a mainstream audience, not just their fellow bigots. The anti-Semitic attacks reached a crescendo during Israel's recent war with Hamas, but this problem of Jew-haters using the CBC as their message board stretches back for years. Last April, I wrote about the anti-Semitic comments that greeted a CBC.ca story about Prime Minister Stephen Harper laying a wreath at Auschwitz. A reader calling himself 'Baltzera' asked which would be more entertaining, "a day pass to Disney's theme park or Dachau?" Similar filth greeted a story about B'nai Brith's 2007 Audit of Anti-Semitic Incidents in Canada, with one reader asserting that Jews are "despised for all the right reasons here and globally." Back in 2004, writing in the Globe and Mail, Margaret Wente noted the problem with anti-Semitic reader comments at the CBC, and quoted this one: "Jesus may have been a Jew himself but I know for a fact that he didn't take part in the eating of blood-filled pastries made from the blood of Palestinian children." The theme of Jews thirsting for blood resurfaced during Israel's war with Hamas. For example, a reader, identifying himself as 'LoranHayden,' portrayed Jews as racist, genocidal baby-killers, savouring "Muslim juice." In Canada, anti-Jewish extremists like this are part of the lunatic fringe. On the CBC message boards, they're prolific. For example, 536 CBC.ca readers clicked on the link to recommend a comment by 'sandy411' in which he/she compared Israel's assault on Hamas to the Holocaust and added a reference to Israel wanting "pounds of flesh," like Shylock the Jew. 'Sandy411' added: "How many tons of Palestinian women and children will settle your account, Israel?" It was the most popular comment of the day. I wrote to the CBC to complain, citing eight of the most odious comparisons of Jews to Nazis, all of them taken from reader comments on a single story published Dec. 27. While I waited for a reply, the Hamas war got into full swing and CBC.ca readers began posting more than 1,000 comments a day on the topic. I collected 50 more examples of anti-Semitic attacks: everything from 'DrDavid' referring to Jews as vermin and praising Hitler to 'FRTknocker' denigrating Canadian Jews as 'zionazis' and telling us to get out of Canada. I could have found hundreds more, but I took my 50 examples and submitted another complaint. Two weeks later, the CBC replied. They had reviewed the comments I'd pointed out and agreed the "vast majority" were unacceptable. They reviewed other comments posted by the same users, found many were just as bad and removed them, too. Even better, management showed the moderators, who screen reader comments, the anti-Semitic attacks that they had allowed, made them "aware of the problem users," and refreshed them "on the issue of anti-Semitism in general." Moreover, the CBC agreed that comparisons of Israel (and Jews) to the Nazis and of Gaza to a concentration camp "fall outside acceptable discourse on the topic." In short, it was an outstanding, highly professional response. And I wasn't satisfied. A glance at recent stories showed the moderators were still allowing some gross anti-Semitism and Holocaust-baiting to slip through. Besides, though the CBC would block or remove a comment suggesting Jews are baby-killing Nazis, the reader was welcome to come back with some more subtle Jew-baiting. So I wrote and complained again. I'm still waiting for a reply but not impatiently, because in the meanwhile - to their great credit -the CBC has gotten better at screening out anti-Semitic attacks. Also, they've posted a new policy, stating that people who offend the CBC's policies may have their account suspended. In other words, Jew-haters can get themselves banned. Many readers commenting at CBC.ca still demonize Israel. They call it racist, terrorist, apartheid. They're still preparing a rationale for wiping Israel off the map, still in the business of supplying a warrant for genocide. But the CBC has drawn a line in the sand. Attacking Jews is going a step too far. So is comparing the Nazi Jew-killers to the Jewish state. That sort of thing used to get posted at the CBC. Not anymore.   Brian Henry is a Toronto writer and editor. He's an occasional Instructor at Ryerson University's G. Raymond Chang School of Continuing Studies and a frequent contributor to H-Anti-Semitism, a scholarly forum for the discussion of the history of anti-Semitism. Comments are welcome at his blog: http://brians-op-eds.blogspot.com/. HonestReporting.ca To support our continued efforts to hold the Canadian news media accountable for their reporting on Israel, please donate here today. Through your donations, you can help ensure that Canadian journalists are held to the highest standards of "Honest Reporting." Or send a cheque to: HonestReporting Canada P.O. Box 6, Station Q, Toronto, Ontario M4T 2L7 (416) 915-9157 Thank you for your ongoing commitment to fair and accurate media coverage of Israel and the Middle East

You are currently subscribed to honestreportingcanada as: pressing4truth.canada@blogger.com To unsubscribe click here or send a blank email to leave-9491382-30846861.70055780e4c7785a46ecfd4be95feb9c@pr1.netatlantic.com

Quality Control Problems Continue at CBC

Quality Control Problems Continue at CBC February 23, 2009 By: Mike Fegelman Dear HonestReporting Canada subscriber: In recent weeks we have exposed several examples of unfair and inaccurate CBC news coverage of Israel. At the onset of Operation Cast Lead, CBC Newsworld unfairly presented a pro-Palestinian activist as an objective "media analyst". At the height of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, CBC National misrepresented a statement by then president-elect Barack Obama, making it seem as though Obama had only expressed concern for the loss of civilian life in Gaza, when in fact he had expressed concern for the Israeli casualties as well. CBC subsequently issued an on-air correction to remedy their error. Finally, after the Gaza operation ended, CBC.ca falsely reported that Israel had failed to open border crossings to the Gaza Strip since the January 18 ceasefire had taken effect. CBC.ca issued a correction after HonestReporting Canada intervened. Unfortunately, these were not isolated incidents. Recent CBC news coverage of Israel indicates that "quality control" problems continue at our public broadcaster, perhaps revealing a troubling pattern of bias. CBC "The Current" Airs Conspiracy Theory On February 17, CBC Radio's "The Current" featured an interview with former CBC Editor-in-Chief Tony Burman (now Managing Director of Al Jazeera English) who is in the process of formally seeking cable and satellite carriage for Al Jazeera English to be viewed in Canada.  The interview sparked some debate from The Current's listeners and on February 19, the program read some of their listener's letters on-air.  One listener, arguing in support of Al Jazeera, alleged that the pro-Israel lobby controls the media. Host Anna Maria Tremonti read the following letter aloud: "Bill Holevoth (sp?) of Lethbridge, Alberta responds to that as he writes: "North America not only has a right to Al Jazeera, but a fundamental need for the network. The filtering system America's pro-Israel lobby forces on the media is used only to promote Israel's agenda against the people of the Middle East and anyone opposing the Zionist agenda is quickly seen as anti-Semitic. Thousands of Jewish people also oppose the atrocities occurring in Gaza. We must learn to distinguish between Judaism and Zionism, networks such as Al Jazeera help the common person to understand this and should be accepted as an important part of our media." The myth of pro-Jewish or pro-Israeli media controls has long been a staple of anti-Semites worldwide. This canard, which sometimes names the "Jewish lobby" outright and sometimes implicates a more shadowy "pro-Israel lobby," is widely accepted in the Arab world and is pervasive in the Muslim and Arab Media, along with the myth of Jewish control of the U.S. government or its usurpation by a pro-Israel clique. For Canada's publicly-funded broadcaster to air conspiracy theories claiming that the media are controlled by pro-Israel interests is a gross and odious violation of the CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices. While the letter writer is entitled to his warped views, the CBC should not have given him a platform to air his outlandish statements, as the network bears a special responsibility to act as a safeguard against bigotry and hatred. Please ask The Current to apologize for airing conspiracy theories of pro-Israel control of the media. Send your considered and polite comments to The Current's Executive Producer Pamela Bertrand at pam.bertrand@cbc.ca or call the Feedback Line at 1 877 287-7366.   CBC.ca Issues Three Corrections After HRC Interventions   In a February 18 report on CBC.ca entitled "Lifting of Gaza blockade depends on abducted soldier's release: Israel," the following egregious error was stated by CBC writers: "The conflict between Israel and Hamas earlier this year killed roughly 3,000 Palestinians, say Palestinian officials. Israeli officials say 13 Israelis, including four soldiers, were killed."   Contrary to this statement, it's believed that only 1,300 Palestinians were killed, a majority of whom were Hamas terrorists. This CBC report overstated the total death toll by a shocking 1,700 people!   In light of the severity of this error, HonestReporting Canada immediately contacted CBC editors and requested an urgent formal apology to correct this serious mistake. The following correction was promptly issued by CBC editors the following day:         On February 10, CBC.ca erroneously reported that "Lebanon has had a tense relationship with Israel — brought to the fore in 2006, when war broke out between the two neighbours."  Contrary to this statement, Israel never went to war with the Lebanese government, the country, or their army during the 34-day war. Instead, Israel fought the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah which had initiated cross-border attacks against Israel.   After HonestReporting Canada informed CBC.ca editors that there were no clashes between the Israeli and Lebanese armies, the following correction was promptly issued:         On February 1 and 2, CBC.ca erroneously reported that there were "no reports of casualties or damage" after 2 rockets launched from Gaza had landed inside Israel. In reality, three Israelis were injured (2 soldiers, 1 civilian) in these attacks.   After HonestReporting Canada brought this error to CBC's attention, the following correction was promptly issued:         CBC Radio Wrong on "Israeli Raid"   On February 18, CBC Radio's Kim Stefler, host of the "The World This Hour" program erroneously stated that:   "Gilad Shalit was captured during an Israeli raid into Gaza in June 2006, but Hamas rejects any link between the release of Shalit and a long term truce in Gaza."   To listen to this report online please click here.   Contrary to this statement, on June 25, 2006, Palestinian terrorists tunnelled from Gaza into Israel proper and attacked an Israeli military base capturing Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit from within Israel and not from the Gaza Strip. Contrary to Ms. Stefler's statement, there was no Israeli raid into Gaza at the time.   HonestReporting Canada filed a complaint with CBC editors, who in today's edition of the program issued the following correction: "Before we go - a note to our listeners. On February 18th, we reported that Corporal Gilad Shalit was captured in June 2006, during an Israeli raid into Gaza. In fact, he was captured by Gaza militants during a raid on an Israeli army post."   To listen to the correction online please click here.   ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------   The CBC's continuing pattern of promoting false information to the Canadian public is disturbing. Please do your part to keep the CBC honest by contacting the network today to express your concerns or otherwise please notify HonestReporting Canada of future lapses in CBC journalism by emailing us at: info@honestreporting.ca     HonestReporting.ca To support our continued efforts to hold the Canadian news media accountable for their reporting on Israel, please donate here today. Through your donations, you can help ensure that Canadian journalists are held to the highest standards of "Honest Reporting." Or send a cheque to: HonestReporting Canada P.O. Box 6, Station Q, Toronto, Ontario M4T 2L7 (416) 915-9157 Thank you for your ongoing commitment to fair and accurate media coverage of Israel and the Middle East

You are currently subscribed to honestreportingcanada as: pressing4truth.canada@blogger.com To unsubscribe click here or send a blank email to leave-9391929-30846861.70055780e4c7785a46ecfd4be95feb9c@pr1.netatlantic.com