Canadians for Justice and Peace in the Middle East (CJPME) condemns the rise of far-right Zionist vigilante groups in Canada and is urging media to provide accurate and comprehensive coverage of their activities and ideologies. CJPME laments that Canadian journalists thus far have described these groups as “safety” or “security” patrols, whereas some of these organizations have far-right extremist ideologies and histories of violence. To help journalists better understand the issue, CJPME has released an essay on four increasingly prominent Canadian organizations purporting to support security for the Jewish community, titled “The Rise of Zionist Vigilante Groups in Canada.”
“It is alarming to see flags for Israeli terrorist organizations waved on the streets of Toronto, and even worse to see the media describing such vigilantes in positive terms,” said Jason Toney, Director of Media Advocacy for CJPME. “Describing groups with violent ideologies as ‘safety’ or ‘security’ patrols is not merely inaccurate, but it normalizes and emboldens the vigilante activities which threaten the safety of the Palestine solidarity community,” Toney added.
CJPME is highly concerned by the rapid emergence of these groups in recent weeks and their intimidation tactics at university campuses. Earlier this month, Zionist vigilante groups, including the Jewish Defence League (JDL), appeared outside pro-Palestine rallies in Toronto, with multiple instances of participants waving flags of Israel’s Kach party, which is banned as a terrorist organization in Canada. CJPME points out that the presence of Kach flags and chants of “make Gaza a parking lot” are acts of intimation that threaten the safety of Palestinians and their allies in Canada. Other vigilante organizations, such as Magen Herut, hold extremist anti-Palestinian ideologies. CJPME is disappointed that Universities have done little to protect Palestinians and their advocates nor condemned these vigilante groups and their hateful imagery and rhetoric.
CJPME is urging journalists to document the presence of these groups in their reporting of protests. Reporters must also provide readers with enough context to understand the backgrounds of these groups, which have their origins in extremist far-right organizations and/or political movements that promote violence against Arabs and Palestinians. Further, media must make corrections and updates to existing articles that fall short of these basic journalistic standards. You can find CJPME’s recent essay here.
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Featured image: Kach logo spraypainted on a cement block reading “Kahane Chai” (Licensed under CC BY 2.5)
