If a woman is sexually assaulted, suggesting that by choosing to wear particular clothing, she invited the problem onto herself would be considered not just an odious viewpoint, but a textbook example of victim-blaming.

That is precisely what CBC News did in a November 22 article, “IDF soldiers are doing speaking events in Canada. Some say they shouldn’t be here.”

Digital Writer Kevin Maimann – whose repeated instances of anti-Israel bias have been documented by HonestReporting Canada previously, discussed the recent mob near Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), where a group of anti-Israel rioters violently disrupted a speaking event by a former Israeli soldier.

However, the thrust of the article was not about how an approved student club on campus, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), was able to remain a club even after organizing the violent disruption, but instead focused on the complaints of radical anti-Israel groups who attempted to blame the Jewish students who were attacked.

In fact, Maimann implied that SJP was one of the aggrieved parties, writing that the group shared clips purporting to “show one of the IDF soldiers grabbing and shoving protesters.”

What the footage actually showed is the former Israeli soldier removing rioters from the venue, into which they had forced themselves.

Maimann mentioned that radical groups like Canadians for Justice & Peace in the Middle East (CJPME), Independent Jewish Voices (IJV) and the National Council of Canadian Muslims (NCCM) have all “called for investigations into Israeli soldiers,” alongside anti-Israel activist James Yap, anti-Israel commentator Mark Kersten and NDP MP Heather McPherson.

CJPME, while portraying itself as a group supporting “justice,” recently announced Yara Shoufani, who has defended Palestinian terrorism, as a new board member. IJV, for its part, has been accused of Holocaust denial and excusing Palestinian terrorism, while NCCM notably fabricated a quote from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in order to accuse Israel of “genocide.”

While Maimann quoted others who opposed the anti-Israel riot, the framing of his piece sought to suggest that there were two reasonable perspectives: those who blame the victims of a fanatical mob, and those who blame the organizers of the violence.

This is far from anything resembling either balance or credible journalism, and is akin to penning an article about a rape victim, quoting groups who say that the real problem was with her clothing, and that is what should be investigated.

Given that the majority of Israelis are drafted into the military, calling for all Israeli soldiers to be investigated and potentially banned from Canada is an overt act of discrimination.

Kevin Maimann’s November 22 article for CBC News may have ‘ticked the boxes’ of balance by quoting opponents of the anti-Israel riot, but by framing the real culprits as those who were violently attacked, he helped play rhetorical defence for dangerous actors in Canadian society.

While it is entirely expected that radical anti-Israel groups like CJPME, NCCM and IJV would seek to redirect the story and use the riot to attack the Jewish State, it is irresponsible that CBC News, on the back of the Canadian taxpayer, would so gullibly go along.