December 8, 2023
TORONTO – B’nai Brith Canada has filed a complaint with the CTV News Ombudsperson after repeated problems in coverage of the Israel-Hamas War by the network.
On Dec. 4, CTV National News Anchor Omar Sachedina misrepresented a peaceful Jewish solidarity demonstration in Ottawa as a “pro-war rally.” He wrongly inferred that Jews were gathering on Parliament Hill to encourage the war in Gaza. In fact, the demonstration’s intent was to show support for the victims of Hamas’ terrorism and display unity against the rising tide of antisemitism in Canada.
Then, this past Thursday, a CTV Toronto report on the Jewish holiday of Chanukah was hijacked when clips of the ongoing fighting between the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Hamas terrorists was inserted into the segment. B’nai Brith and other Jewish organizations immediately called out the segment as an instance of antisemitism.
CTV subsequently apologized for the problematic report, attributing it to technical difficulties. No explanation for what caused the broadcast to be compromised was offered and there was no assurance provided that a similar outrage will not reoccur.
B’nai Brith felt it was necessary to take further action with CTV to ensure that a pattern is not developing.
“Important questions remain to be answered,” said Michael Mostyn, B’nai Brith Canada’s Chief Executive Officer. “We are hopeful that CTV will be open to our feedback and engage with us in a cooperative manner so that we can answer the concerns voiced by members of our community.”
