As first documented by Leviathan, a social media user documenting radical anti-Israel extremists on social media, Rasha Zaid is a pro-Palestinian activist in Windsor, Ontario, where she is running for a position on city council in the city’s upcoming municipal election.
As noted by Leviathan, Zaid is a regular protester and has reportedly stated that Zionists “must be locked up” and chillingly, stated that “we are not free until they are not amongst us,” and has spread other chants such as “allahu akbar” and “all the Zionists are racists” at protests. She has also reportedly traveled to Toronto to protest the Walk with Israel event.
From Calls to Imprison Zionists to a Bid for Public Office
After the story became international news following a report in The Jerusalem Post, CBC News covered the controversy in a September 11 article by Dalson Chen, “Windsor city council candidate defends past anti-Zionist comments.”
However, rather than making the focus of the article about what can reasonably be called Zaid’s radical anti-Israel rhetoric, the article began by appearing in our eyes to frame her as the victim, writing that “a candidate for Windsor city council says she’s been dealing with threats over her past public comments against Zionism.”
It continues by telling readers that Zaid “has organized protests in support of Palestinians,” and quotes her as saying that she is “vocally anti-Zionist.”
CBC Buried the Most Disturbing Rhetoric
Yet it was only in the seventh paragraph that readers are given any indication into the serious nature of Zaid’s rhetoric, including her call that Zionists “must be locked up,” and referring to “Zionists” as “serial killers on the loose.”
While the article did quote representatives from Windsor’s Jewish community, it failed to acknowledge the seriousness of Zaid’s rhetoric, and instead treated it as something of a dispute, writing that she “feels the Jerusalem Post and the (Windsor Jewish Federation) are both confusing her anti-Zionism with anti-Judaism,” and quoting her as saying that she has “friends that are Jewish.”
Anti-Zionism Is Not a Harmless Political Label
At no time did the article explain what Zionism is, being the belief that the Jewish People have the right to self-determination in their historic and ancestral lands. Thus, denying the right of Jews to self-determination – while affording it to others – is a literal textbook definition of antisemitism, according to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition, which has been widely accepted, including by the Government of Canada.
This would have been critical information to share, but it was omitted, and the consequence being that readers were left with little to no understanding as to why calling for all “Zionists” to be thrown in jail is so dangerous and is not simply a polite expression of a political view, or opposition to Israeli government policies.
Zaid’s anti-Israel rhetoric is hardly an isolated case. The last three years in particular have seen a proliferation of extremist anti-Israel protests, often characterized not by calls for peace between Israelis and Palestinians, but of hateful anti-Jewish caricatures, burning of Canadian flags, harassment, violence and other acts of intimidation against members of the public.
Thus, if CBC News wanted to cover the controversy of Rasha Zaid, it would have been beneficial to explore both the meaning of antizionism (and how it is widely used as a smokescreen for anti-Jewish hate), and the widespread social unrest caused by anti-Israel demonstrations over the last three years. Unfortunately, while it could have provided readers with a comprehensive picture, it failed to do so.
