In the latest episode of the Canadian media effectively regurgitating anti-Israel complaints and turning them into a news story, a recent Canadian Press article shared with readers that Israel’s prime minister might be flying over Canada on his way to address the United Nations.
The Same Manufactured Controversy, Recycled Yet Again
This is hardly the first time an outlet has promoted this story, with CBC News’ Evan Dyer publishing virtually the same report on multiple occasions previously, on the heels of complaints from anti-Israel activists.
In this year’s instalment, “Anand to see if Netanyahu is crossing Canadian airspace with arrest warrant in effect,” published September 23, Dylan Robertson – whose writing has been repeatedly documented by HonestReporting Canada – led by telling readers that Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand “says she is checking” to see whether Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be flying over Canada towards the United States.
No other world leader that visited the United Nations was the subject of such a report from the Canadian Press confirming whether they would (or would not) transit over Canadian air space.
An Anti-Israel Activist Presented as a Neutral Legal Expert
Readers were told that the issue was because of an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant for Netanyahu, before citing “legal experts” such as Mark Kersten, an assistant professor of criminology at one of Canada’s lowest-ranked universities, the University of the Fraser Valley.
Robertson did not mention that Kersten is a vocal anti-Israel activist who has accused Jerusalem of “genocide” and whose social media is replete with anti-Israel posts.
Robertson quoted Kersten as saying that “respect for the ICC” demands that Canada “prevent suspects from flying over their territory.”
At no time anywhere in the article did Robertson acknowledge that the ICC warrant is highly contested. It was issued under then-prosecutor Karim Khan, who allegedly received promises from the oil-rich Islamist regime of Qatar that it would “look after” him if he issued warrants against Israel.
The Scandals Surrounding Karim Khan Were Left Out
Other critics of the ICC have argued that his pursuit of Israeli leaders was an attempt to deflect from his own personal scandals, namely accusations of sexual assault from a subordinate. The story does not end there. According to an investigation in The Guardian newspaper, Qatar went so far as to target Khan’s alleged victim in a secret operation, apparently aimed at discrediting her testimony.
Khan was later fired as a result of those allegations.
Incredibly, none of these details were ever presented to readers. Instead, the ICC was discussed as if it were an entirely credible organization whose actions were de facto legitimate and beyond reproach.
Beginning with the very premise of the article, suggesting that the presence of Israel’s prime minister in Canadian airspace was controversial, to relying on a source like Kersten (notably, with no counterweight quoted), all while omitting any mention of the scandals plaguing the ICC, Dylan Robertson’s September 23 article for The Canadian Press not only failed to accurately inform readers, it fundamentally presented them a highly misleading picture instead.
Dylan Robertson and The Canadian Press must do better to present what’s truly important, rather than parroting manufactured outrage.
