Nov. 24, 2017
By Aidan Fishman
Interim National Director of the League for Human Rights
B’nai Brith Canada
WINNIPEG – A prominent Winnipeg radio station has suspended one of its programs after B’nai Brith Canada highlighted its promotion of antisemitic conspiracy theories.
CKUW 95.9 FM, the official campus radio station of the University of Winnipeg, removed “Where Angels Fear to Tread” page doen`t exist anymore from the air for six weeks following an incident on its Saturday, Nov. 11 broadcast.
During that broadcast, Toronto-based conspiracy theorist Sydney White told listeners that Israelis had gassed and cremated the victims of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and accused American-Jewish businessman Larry Silverstein, who leased the World Trade Center, of profiting from the disaster. She also repeatedly described the United States as “Zionist America,” and accused Jewish bankers of fomenting the Russian Revolution.
In addition to the action taken against the program, a B’nai Brith representative will appear on CKUW to discuss the rise of antisemitic incidents in Canada, as recorded in its 2016 Audit of Antisemitic Incidents.
“We commend CKUW for taking action against antisemitism on the air,” said Michael Mostyn, Chief Executive Officer of B’nai Brith Canada. “This hateful content was totally inappropriate for any Canadian radio station, let alone one financed in part by mandatory student fees.”
The University of Winnipeg Student Association, which transfers student fees to CKUW, faced a vote on the anti-Israel boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement on Oct. 25. The motion to endorse BDS failed by a significant margin after Jewish students and groups rallied to defeat it.
