[rad-green] Anatomy of a Zionist Smear Campaign: Jerusalem Post Admits to Fabrications

*http://www.palestinechronicle.com/anatomy-of-a-zionist-smear-campaign-jerusalem-post-admits-to-fabrications/
<http://www.palestinechronicle.com/anatomy-of-a-zionist-smear-campaign-jerusalem-post-admits-to-fabrications/>*


*Palestine Chronicle          November 30, 2019*

Anatomy of a Zionist Smear Campaign: Jerusalem Post Admits to Fabrications
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators protest in the halls of York University in
Toronto on November 20. (Photo: Supplied)

*By Marion Kawas <http://www.palestinechronicle.com/writers/marion-kawas>*

On November 20, 2019, Israel advocacy club Herut Canada held a public
meeting entitled “Reservists on Duty” at York University in Toronto. The
meeting billed itself as a chance to hear from “real Israeli soldiers”
about the “Arab-Israeli conflict, BDS and much more”.

Pro-Palestinian groups on campus and their supporters were concerned and
outraged that the university administration was even allowing the meeting
to go forward and called for a public rally to protest such an event. SAIA
York pointed out that “the UN, Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch
have accused the Israeli military of war crimes and crimes against
humanity, and have found it responsible for numerous human rights
violations”.

However, the Jewish Defense League JDL in Canada quickly announced that
they would be on campus to “counter” the rally; despite an official warning
from the university administration, the JDL were present, were provocative
and violent, and sent one protestor to hospital.

The JDL head even posted a video of himself during their counter-demo
saying “We’re getting the job done here at York University, the JDL is here
in force, we’ll do what we have to do…”; screenshots of FB posts from JDL
supporters or members bragged about how “one of my boys knocked one of
their guys out”. Never Again Canada, a leading pro-Israel group, posted a
video on their FB of this injured person with the Islamophobic intro:
“Dirty screeching Islamist baksheeshes unconscious on the floor…”

However, despite all of this open admission of violence and shocking
racism, Canadian politicians including PM Justin Trudeau
<https://twitter.com/JustinTrudeau/status/1197941965775618051> have leaped
to the defense of the JDL provocateurs, not the students and their right to
protest.

The Zionist lobby went into overdrive as soon as the event finished and
tried to take hold of the narrative. The first reports tried to emphasize
how “violent” the students and their supporters were (even though it was
one of their numbers who suffered a concussion) and repeatedly
misrepresented the chant of “Viva, viva, intifada”, claiming it was somehow
a slogan calling for the destruction of Israel.

However, the campaign to rewrite what happened at York really took off
after a Jerusalem Post story
<https://www.jpost.com/Diaspora/Activists-get-violent-during-Reservists-on-Duty-at-York-University-608617>
was
posted on November 21, 2019 (then dated Nov. 23 and revised Nov. 26), that
opened with the following in the original version:

“’Intifada, Intifada, go back to the ovens,’ 600 violent, pro-Palestinian
protesters chanted at Jewish students on Wednesday during a pro-Israel
event at York University.”

And note the parameters here: 600 violent protestors (a coordinated action
by the whole rally) chanting at “Jewish students”.

Almost every story written by pro-Israel commentators after that referenced
this Jerusalem Post report, flaunting it as evidence of the nasty type of
“anti-Semitism” inherent in Palestinian events. And it is a serious and
dangerous accusation, one that you would think would require fact-checking
and proof before printing.

I double-checked with the Jerusalem Post regarding any verification for the
claim in their story. The author of the article replied in an email:

“One of the speakers who was there – Shar Leyb – told me that this was
chanted by the group while they were setting up for their event. I have a
recording of him telling me this from when we spoke on Thursday afternoon.”

So there you have it. No hard proof, nothing but anecdotal and second-hand
evidence from one extremely biased source with a very specific agenda.

And then, mysteriously, a few hours after my first email to Jerusalem Post,
there appeared an updated version of the article with an editors note at
the bottom saying:

“A mistake in editing accidentally attributed the chant “Intifada,
Intifada, go back to the ovens” to all of the protestors at the event. This
was not the case. The comment was made by a handful of protestors to some
of the organizers.”

A mistake in editing!! So clearly the first claim was bogus, false and
could not be verified. Are we to believe the new version, which again will
be solely based on the word of the same speaker from the event? The damage
has been done, the smear was repeated and repeated, and a half-hearted
revision five days after the first story will not undo the harm that has
been caused. This is journalism at its worst; it is dangerous and shows no
regard for the consequences of such a smear campaign. It also cheapens and
distracts from the real acts of anti-Semitism.

It is incumbent on the Jerusalem Post to release this audio recording they
claim to have, because we need to clarify how this dangerous fabrication
came about. Was it from the speaker, Shar Leyb, or was it from the
newspaper staff itself?

Multiple groups and individuals from diverse backgrounds who were at the
event, including the Palestinian students, a member of Independent Jewish
Voices Canada, folks from Christian Peacemakers Team and CUPE 3903
<https://3903.cupe.ca/2019/11/22/an-open-letter-to-rhonda-lenton-the-november-20th-violence-is-on-you/>
to
mention just a few, had already strongly disagreed with these reports of
what took place. Furthermore, no video evidence had been produced to back
up the claim; lawyer Dimitri Lascaris wrote a comprehensive blog
<https://dimitrilascaris.org/2019/11/23/justin-trudeau-sides-with-pro-israel-thuggery-at-york-university/>
piece
that carefully documented and refuted the accusations of the Israel lobby.

He said in a follow-up email:

“I was not there but I have spoken to numerous participants and have viewed
over 50 distinct video clips of the event, including videos posted on Never
Again Canada and by other promoters of Israel. I heard no such language in
any of the videos. Moreover, if in fact the group chanted this and a
pro-Israel person in the crowd heard it, it is inconceivable that there
would not be a recording of it. Surely someone would have shot a video of
this and shared it widely on social media and with the Jerusalem Post.”

The events at York University have already taken on an international
dimension with coverage from media in Lebanon; there was also a joint
statement
<http://www.bdssouthafrica.com/post/south-african-students-condemn-violence-against-canadian-students/>
of
support issued by the South African Union of Students and BDS South Africa
in which they condemned “the recent violence against human rights defenders
at York University in Canada.”

Many activist and community groups in Canada are calling for PM Justin
Trudeau to stop slandering the student protest as “anti-Semitic” and
“violent”, and are also calling on the York University administration to
better protect students. This behavior from politicians and officials is
dangerous and inflammatory; it can and most likely will lead to further
anti-Palestinian racism and targeting of student activists. How sad that
once again, as in Gaza, the Israel lobby succeeds in convincing others to
blame the victim for the violence inflicted on them.

As noted by the Canada Palestine Association in their statement
<http://cpavancouver.org/2019/11/tell-pm-justin-trudeau-stop-slandering-palestinian-students/>
to
the Canadian PM:

“It is not racist to protest against the occupation army that daily
humiliates and subjugates our people. It is not racist to protest against
the Israeli military that earlier this month murdered 9 members of the same
family in Gaza, and then claimed it was a “mistake”.

It is legitimate for Palestinians and their supporters to ask the Israeli
military, press, and government: how many mistakes will Palestinians be
forced to endure, how many mistakes will be allowed for the pro-Israel
hasbara?

What happened at York University, both during and after the Nov. 20
meeting, is a microcosm of developments in the Palestinian solidarity
movement: support is building, people are pushing back and challenging the
Zionist lobby narrative, and pro-Israel groups and the Israeli government
themselves are becoming increasingly desperate in their efforts to stop the
cracks in their crumbling hegemony over public opinion.

*– Marion Kawas is a member of the Canada Palestine Association and co-host
of Voice of Palestine. She contributed this article to
PalestineChronicle.com. Visit: **www.cpavancouver.org*
<http://www.cpavancouver.org/>*.*

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