Segacs's World I Know

Posts Tagged ‘cbc’

And in typical fashion, CBC Newsworld decided to commemorate Yom Ha’atzmaut by doing a newsmagazine segment on Abu Mazan, and how wonderful and peace-loving he is. No mention of the fact that Abu Mazan is a Holocaust denier and that he also supports continued attacks on Israeli citizens living in the Territories. (Both links via LGF).

But then, it is CBC. What else can we expect from them but a bend-over-backwards-to-be-evenhanded approach that draws a moral equivalency between Israeli defense and Palestinian terror?

Some groups are pushing to get Al-Jazeera broadcast in Canada. The CJC and B’nai Brith Canada are incensed – rightly so. Far from being “just another viewpoint”, Al-Jazeera broadcasts blatantly antisemitic content on a daily basis under the guise of news:

CJC President Keith Landy, whose group closely monitors Al-Jazeera programming, said that some of the channel’s material might violate Canada’s hate-crimes legislation and federal broadcasting statutes, since it regularly engages in “blatant anti-Semitism, Holocaust denial and the glorification of suicide bombers.”

“We certainly don’t want this to appear as a political attempt to prevent another view from being aired,” he said. “But by granting them a license, the kind of stories that they carry could contravene the Criminal Code.”

Arab groups in Canada have vowed to push for the channel’s inclusion on Canadian cable service, saying that “it would broaden the horizon of the Canadian public” with regards to the Middle East.

What, the CBC isn’t enough for them?

For anyone not aware, the Gazette’s parent company CanWestGlobal has been engaged in a war of words with the CBC about its media bias on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. CanWestGlobal has pointed a finger at the CBC for refusing to use the word “terrorist” and for reports that are biased towards the Palestinians. The CBC has counter-accused CWG of being biased towards the Israeli side. And most Canadians have dismissed the exchange as inter-media rivalry.

Now (via reader Stuart Rothman), the CBC’s mideast correspondant, Neil Macdonald, has been implicated in a media bias scandal. Macdonald, by the way, was a key opposer to the Canadian government’s decision to ban Hezbollah, and apparently holds strong person anti-Israel views. He tried to hatch a plan to embarrass Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon . . . but it backfired on him.

Macdonald spearheaded a drive to boycott the prime minister’s annual party for members of the Foreign Press Association (FPA), which represents 300 foreign correspondents working in Israel. Macdonald wrote to fellow FPA members, suggesting that “on an official level, let the FPA send a single representative to the reception. Meanwhile, I intend to be absent. And I urge my colleagues to find other work that day, too.”

Macdonald’s scheme was to have Prime Minister Sharon show up to an empty banquet hall.

In the end, 300 journalists packed Jerusalem’s David Citadel Hotel on January 20 — and it was Macdonald who was embarrassed.

Whether or not this drives the CBC to modify its policy, Macdonald has obviously overstepped his bounds as a reporter. The CBC is a primary news source for many Canadians, and this blatant bias against Israel is no small matter. Millions of Canadians are forming decisions based on what they see on the CBC.

Visit the Honest Reporting story for contact info for the key people at the CBC, and let them know how disgusted you are by this.

Update: Neil Macdonald is denying these allegations now. He claims that he merely supported the call for the boycott, not tried to organize it. Apparently, Macdonald, along with other members of the FPA, are angry because Israel revoked the credentials of some members of the Palestinian press with links to terrorist organizations.

But no, I suppose supporting terrorist reporters wouldn’t be biased, right Neil?

Update on The National’s story on Concordia: Read the transcripts here.

Tonight’s The National had a full feature story on Concordia University and the tensions on campus. The report showed footage from the September 9th riots and interviews with pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel – and other – students, faculty, and administrators. It was a real in-depth look at the politics over at Gaza U . . . or at least it claimed to be. And could have been, if not for the constant one-sidedness.

The footage of the riots focused on chants of “free Palestine” and clashes with riot police. Not a single mention was made of the many Jewish people who were roughed up, pushed, shoved, and spat upon. Not a word was said about the disgustingly antisemitic character of the riot. And words like “waiting to happen” and “provocation” continued the myth that the riot was the fault of everyone but the rioters.

Misleading quotes gave the impression that Hillel was somehow just as wrong as SPHR. Pamphlets distributed by Hillel were highlighted as being controversial – in fact, these flyers were perfectly legitimate, but the anti-Israel forces were looking for something to pick on. No mention was made of the blatant outright racism of most of the SPHR material. And the CBC’s blatantly self-serving attack on Izzy Asper has no business in reports. Watching the two organizations battle it out in the public eye is not only distasteful, it’s leading to biased reporting.

Concordia has enough problems, but this news report is only going to give encouragement to the CSU and their supporters. And as always, it is the students who will suffer the most.