It is unclear exactly when the CBC podcast Front Burner decided to jettison any semblance of journalistic balance in exchange for a virulent anti-Israel agenda, but regardless of when that practice began, it has now embraced that agenda with abandon.
Front Burner, hosted by Jayme Poisson, promises listeners that it “takes you deep into the stories shaping Canada and the world,” and that the host “talks with the smartest people covering the biggest stories to help you understand what’s going on.”
Based on that description, it would appear that Front Burner’s guests are selected for their expertise and relevance. Instead, when the topic of Israel is discussed, the most important qualification appears to be their hostility to the country – a practice seen again and again.
The June 4 episode, running 40 minutes long, featured a conversation between Poisson and Alex de Waal of Tufts University in Massachusetts. The very title of the episode, “When hunger is a weapon,” left little doubt as to whether there would be any reasonable prospect of a comprehensive discussion rather than a one-sided assault.
Listen now to the full segment:
The episode began with Poisson spreading the now-debunked falsehood that Israel killed 31 Palestinians in a “massacre” while collecting food in Gaza, making no mention that Israel says there was no gunfire anywhere near the site in question. She did not present the claims of the deaths as an allegation from Hamas, but as a matter of fact. For Poisson, Israel is apparently presumed guilty without a second thought.
She referred to food aid into Gaza as a “trickle,” even as there is enough to feed the population of the territory on a daily basis. When de Waal spoke of famines in the world in his comments, Poisson appeared eager to pivot back to Gaza, asking him if “we could spend some more time talking about Gaza, specifically.”
Fact: Israel is NOT starving Gaza.
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Why Poisson would be so fixated on Gaza does not line up with the facts. According to some estimates, thousands die every single day from hunger in countries ranging from Sudan to Somalia to Senegal. Gaza is nowhere on the top 10 list. Yet for Front Burner, Gaza is always front and centre, while others suffering actual famine are an afterthought.
When her guest de Waal said Israeli statements that Hamas terrorists have stolen food “is not supported by any evidence,” it would have been remarkably easy for Poisson to cite the ample evidence that does exist. But she chose to remain silent.
Instead, she continued the conversation by accusing Israel of “targeting aid workers,” downplaying both Hamas’ cynical use of civilians and civilian infrastructure, as well as the reality that many of these so-called “aid workers” have in fact been combatants.
The conversation then took a dark turn when Poisson said that “another way that we’ve seen countries defer the responsibility to deliver aid is through designations of terrorism. You’ve written about this in Ethiopia, where the government designated the most widely followed political party in Tigray, a terrorist organization… much of the same is now true in Gaza with the terror designation of Hamas. And what role do you think these designations can have when talking about weaponizing food?” Was Jayme Poisson implicitly casting doubt on the legitimacy of Hamas’ designation as a terrorist group? You decide.
That promoted de Waal to say “governments over the years have always wanted to delegitimize insurgents by calling them bandits or terrorists, and thereby to prohibit and criminalize providing them with assistance.”
If Hamas – a group that murders, rapes, kidnaps and tortures innocent civilians – cannot reasonably be called a terrorist group, then the term has no meaning, and efforts to cast doubt on this designation leads only to a factual and moral abyss.
The next day, Poisson featured a discussion on US negotiator Steve Witcoff, who has been tasked as Washington’s point person between Israel and Hamas. She spoke with US journalist Isaac Stanley-Becker. While Stanley-Becker’s comments focused primarily on Witkoff, Poisson made sure to editorialize and frame Israel as the guilty party.
Listen now to the full segment:
She told listeners that “Hamas has agreed to the outline (of the US ceasefire offer) but proposed some amendments, including a permanent ceasefire and full withdrawal of Israeli troops.” What Poisson called “some amendments” is akin to getting an offer for a minimum wage job, and proposing “some amendments,” including a multi-million annual salary, a car allowance and a free house. Those are not “amendments,” but a decidedly unserious counter-offer.
Hamas did not accept the ceasefire offer; Israel did. What Hamas did was demand a full Israeli surrender and a de facto acceptance that Hamas would continue governing Gaza and threatening Israel’s survival, an obvious non-starter. But Poisson, as is her custom, used her platform to disingenuously assail Israel as the guilty party.
