Another day, another CBC radio program is providing the Canadian public with a sympathetic portrayal of the recent Gaza flotilla stunt, portraying its participants as innocent humanitarians, all while ignoring details which fly in the face of that depiction.

On the May 21 episode of Daybreak North, “BC resident one of 12 Canadians detained by Israeli navy,” host Carolina de Ryk interviewed Emma Tow, sister of Sebastian Tow, an activist who participated in the recent ill-fated flotilla to Gaza.

Listen to the full segment below:

The segment began with de Ryk playing a recording of Sebastian Tow claiming that the flotilla was aiming to “deliver aid” to Gaza, making no mention of the fact that 600 trucks filled with humanitarian aid enter Gaza every single day.

While it is unsurprising that Tow would attempt to portray the flotilla as humanitarian – rather than, as critics have noted, a publicity stunt – it is contemptible that de Ryk made no effort to set the record straight.

She told listeners that the flotilla was “trying to bring food into Gaza,” making no distinction between the talking points presented by flotilla activists, and the facts.

Emma Tow, who works at the Sunset Theatre in Wells, B.C., wasted little time in spreading the falsehood that “Israel…began the genocide” in 2023, a striking allegation that received zero pushback from de Ryk, who could have noted that no international court has found Israel guilty of genocide, that Israel denies those charges, and that urban warfare experts say Israel has done more to protect civilians than any other military in modern history.

But none of those facts were to be heard.

Instead, de Ryk offered her guest what could be best described as softball questions, asking Tow “what more do you want to see Canada do in response to what has happened to your brother and others who are part of this?”

Unsurprisingly, the response from Tow called for Canada to “put sanctions on Israel” and to “implement a real arms embargo.”

Once again, this would have been an opportune time for de Ryk to point out to listeners that it would be unprecedented for Canada to sanction a liberal democratic state like Israel, and that an arms embargo against Israel is effectively a call for Jerusalem to be robbed of its right to defend itself. But yet again, no challenge was forthcoming, nor were there even minimal details offered.

Perhaps most astounding of all, next Tow drew attention to “almost 10,000 Palestinian prisoners currently being held by Israel,” calling their experience “the bigger suffering.”

Tow made no mention of the fact that these prisoners are not innocent people, but security prisoners such as convicted terrorists and murderers, critical details that once again, de Ryk failed to point out.

While it is expected that anti-Israel activists and flotilla participants would spread anti-Israel falsehoods, it is the role of interviewers to challenge those claims and hold their purveyors accountable. But in the May 21 episode of Daybreak North, Carolina de Ryk offered a sympathetic platform instead.